In Your Arms I'll Stay
by UnicornStarFighter
Summary: (Title taken from a Kina Grannis song) Victoire never expected her fifth year at Hogwarts to be easy, but she also never thought it would be this complicated either. Sometimes she wonders why she didn't decide to swear off boys until after school.
1. Chapter 1

"DAD!" shouted a tall girl, running down the stairs, her blonde hair flying behind her, "IS THE MAIL HERE YET?"

Bill Weasley shook his head as his daughter skidded into the kitchen. "No, Vic, it's not. I'm sorry."

Victoire sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I just want to know if I got the badge."

Her mother laughed. "Victoire, you will get eet, I am sure. You 'ave been an eencredible student, why would they not geeve eet to you?"

"Fleur, it's only natural that she feels nervous," Bill said, smiling at Victoire, "I was the same way while I was waiting for my badge. Charlie was with his captaincy as well."

"I just wish it would-" Victoire began.

"MAKE HIM STOP!" yelled a brown-haired girl, running into the kitchen, a short red-haired boy on her heels.

"Louis, Dominique, both of you stop right now," Fleur said, glaring at her youngest children, "Dominique, what 'ave you done to your 'air?"

"He put hair dye in my shampoo bottle!" Dominique said.

Bill sighed and waved his wand. Dominique's hair returned to its normal state of long and reddish-blonde. She hugged her father and he laughed and patted her back before turning to Louis. "Lou, you can't do things like that, it's not nice."

"But I'm so bored," Louis said.

"Well, lucky for you, we're leaving for Grandmum's in…" Bill looked at Fleur, "Fleur, how long?"

Fleur shook her head. "Bill, I swear eef I were not 'ere to 'elp you… 'Alf an hour."

"Half an hour," Bill repeated, turning back to his son, "You lot should go get ready."

Victoire turned to leave, only to be stopped by Louis's shout. "IS THAT THE MAIL?"

Victoire spun and looked out the window. Sure enough, there was a large owl flying to the house. It flew straight through the open window, dropped two envelopes on the table, and flew away again. Victoire tore open the letter with her name on it and screamed, dropping the booklist and letter from the headmistress carelessly on the table. "I MADE PREFECT!"

"We knew you would, Vic," Bill said, smiling.

"I can't wait to tell Teddy!" Victoire said, running out of the room. She ran up the stairs to her bedroom and flung off her t-shirt and shorts. Rifling through her dresser, she pulled out a pair of skinny jeans, a loose floral print tank-top, and a pair of white eyelet Converse that her aunt Gabrielle had bought her during a visit to America. She pulled her clothes on hurriedly and turned to her mirror. After a quick brushing, she pulled her long, straight blonde hair into a haphazard ponytail, with a few strands of hair hanging around her face. She pulled on her cardigan and left the room, returning downstairs. A quick glance into the living room revealed that Dominique was sitting on the couch with her nose in a book. Closer inspection revealed it was _Quidditch Through The Ages._

"Are you really reading that again, Dom?" Victoire asked, raising her eyebrows at her younger sister, "What is this, the twelfth time?"

"Thirty-second, actually," Dominique said, casually turning the page.

"Doesn't it ever get boring? You'll have the whole thing memorized by the end of this year," Victoire said, "You're already the best Beater on our team, what's the point in reading it again and again?"

"Theory," Dominique said, "By knowing the history of the sport, I know more techniques, why things are banned, and I just generally improve my game."

"I still don't see why you can't read a different book. You have so many options, Dom, why this one over and over?"

"Because I have it, and because I always learn something when I read it again. You should take a look at it sometime. Blimey, Vic, you're on the team, you're one of our best Chasers, and you don't know anything about the game that hasn't happened during the last fifty years."

"I know some things. Mostly what Teddy tells me."

"Oh, Teddy. So tell me, Vic, when are you two getting married again?"

Victoire's mouth dropped. "Dom!"

"What?"

"He's not- I don't- we aren't- Nothing is- DOM!"

"That's my name, yes. Very good, Vic."

"Would it kill you to stop being sarcastic for once when we're talking about something besides Quidditch?"

"Possibly. I really shouldn't risk it, someone might come and _Avada Kedavra _me the moment I stop. What would you do then?"

"Be absolutely elated because I wouldn't have a little puffskein being a constant annoyance?"

"Come on, Vic, I'm an owl, not a puffskein. I thought you knew that."

"Dom…"

"I love you too."

Victoire stuck her tongue out at her younger sister and left the room. She went outside and down to the beach, where Louis was poking around in the sand with a long stick.

"What are you looking for, Lou?" Victoire asked, approaching her brother.

Louis looked up. "Oh, Dom said she saw a hermit crab down here earlier. I wanted to see if I could find one."

"Found anything yet?"

"Just a couple of clams, that's all. Vic, what's that by your foot?"

Victoire looked down to see a tiny horseshoe crab scuttling along in the sand. She bent down and scooped it up. "A horseshoe crab."

Louis dropped the stick he was holding and ran towards Victoire. "Can I see?"

"Sure, Lou," Victoire said. She carefully set the horseshoe crab in Louis' hand. He looked at it carefully.

"COME ON, YOU TWO," Dominique shouted.

Victoire turned to see Dom leaning out of the living room window. "IS IT TIME?"

"WHY DO YOU THINK I'M YELLING AT YOU?"

Victoire rolled her eyes. "Come on, Lou."

She held out her hand. Louis set the horseshoe crab down and took her hand, and they walked back to the house and into the kitchen, where Fleur, Bill, and Dominique waited.

"All right, we're all here," Bill said. He held out a small bowl that normally sat on the ledge above the fireplace. "Fleur, you first."

Fleur took a pinch of the silver powder and threw it into the fire. The flames turned bright green, and she stepped into them. "THE BURROW!"

She vanished, and Bill held the bowl out to Victoire. She too took a pinch of powder and threw it into the fire, repeating her mother's words.

She appeared, spinning, in the grate in the Burrow's kitchen. Dusting off her shirt, she clambered out of the fireplace to see that Fleur had already begun to help the woman standing at the stove, who turned around.

"Victoire," she said warmly.

"Hi, Grandmum," Victoire said, smiling, "Do you know where Teddy is?"

"He's outside with Harry and Ginny's little ones," Molly said, with a warm smile at her eldest grandchild.

"Wonderful," Victoire said.

She went into the hallway and out the back door to see a tall boy with scarlet hair playing with three smaller children, two with black hair, one with red. The little redhead looked up as she heard the door open, and ran towards Victoire, who knelt down and opened her arms.

"Vic!" Lily said, throwing her arms around Victoire's neck.

Victoire laughed and lifted her young cousin into the air with a tight hug. "Lils!"

"Teddy told me you weren't coming," Lily said as Victoire set her down.

"Well, Teddy's a liar," Victoire said, mock-glaring at the scarlet-haired boy.

Teddy shrugged. "I can't help it."

Victoire wrinkled her nose at him. After a moment, he grinned and held out his arms. Victoire laughed and walked over to him. He wrapped her up in a hug, and she pressed her face into his shoulder and inhaled as she hugged him.

"Gross," someone said.

Victoire looked over to see her cousin James making a face at them. "What?"

"Too much romance," James said.

Victoire rolled her eyes. "We're not together, James."

"Don't you know anything?" his brother Albus asked.

"Listen to Al," Teddy said, "I'd never date Vic, I'm too handsome for her."

Victoire made a face at him. "More like I'm too pretty for you."

"Ew, flirting," James said.

"How do you even know what that is? You're eleven," Victoire said, looking down at him. Teddy laughed. Victoire turned her gaze to him. "You didn't."

"James needed advice for Sarah," Teddy said, shrugging.

Victoire's eyes softened at the mention of the pretty dark-brown haired girl that had moved in down the street from the Potters a year ago. "That's right, she's starting Hogwarts this year too, isn't she?"

James nodded, blushing. "She is."

"Are you excited for your first year?" Victoire asked. James nodded again. Victoire smiled. "I'll bet. I was too."

"A whole nine months without him," Al said, sighing, "Whatever will I do."

"Read without being interrupted," Victoire said, "You can play with Lils too."

"I'll just go to Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron's," Al said, "Rose and Hugo are better company."

Victoire laughed. "You're too smart for your age, Al." Al shrugged. Victoire turned to James. "You'll miss them. I know I miss Louis when I'm at school."

"Is he inside?" Al asked, his eyes brightening at the mention of his playmate. Victoire nodded. Al grinned. "I'll see you later then."

He ran off towards the house just as his father came to the door. "YOU THREE-" Harry laughed as Al slipped past him into the house. "Well, two, I guess, Grandmum Molly has some treats for you."

James and Lily dashed off to the house without a word. Victoire laughed. Teddy slung an arm around her shoulders. "To the pond?"

"To the pond."

She slung her arm around his waist and they set off down the hill. They walked around the edge of the pond until they came to a large oak tree. Teddy sat down first, and then patted the ground next to him. Victoire grinned and sat down as well.

"So Teddy, guess what."

"What, Tori?" Teddy asked.

She fished her badge out of her pocket and held it out. He looked down at it and then back to her face. He smiled broadly at her. "Excellent, Tori. I'm Head Boy."

Victoire hugged him. "This year is going to be incredible."

Teddy nodded. "You can say that again. Sam got captain."

"He did?"

"Of course, we'll all have to try out again, but that's not a big deal."

"There's only going to be one new person on the team by the end of it."

"Hopefully they'll be a good replacement for Melissa. She was such a good Keeper."

"We'll find someone."

"I know, we just had such a nice team for the last few years, all of us worked together so well. It's going to be odd having her gone and someone else in her place."

Victoire sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I know, you're right, but we have to take what we can get. It is your last year, after all."

"Unfortunately."

"Going to miss me, Teddy Lupin?"

Teddy smiled. "Definitely."

They sat in silence for a while, staring at the pond, until a shadow fell over them. Victoire looked up.

"Molly!"

Molly Weasley smiled, her brown eyes crinkling. "Hey there, Vic, Teddy."

"Hey Molls," Teddy said, smiling.

"Grandmum sent me to bring you two in. We're going to be eating in ten minutes and she wants you both to be on time," Molly said.

"Does no one trust us?" Victoire asked.

"It's you two, you're late to everything when left to your own devices."

"She has a point," Teddy said.

"We're coming," Victoire said, "And since I have you both here, you're coming to dinner at my house in a week, all right?"

"Are Alexa or Monica coming?" Molly asked.

"No," Victoire said, "Monica's in New York till two days before school, and Lexa's still in the Bahamas."

"Shame," Teddy said, "I miss that girl."

"Me too," Molly said.

"Not as much as me though," Victoire said, "We should probably get going."

Molly nodded. Victoire and Teddy stood up, and the three of them made their way back to the house. They went into the house. Molly went to the kitchen to help with the cooking, and Teddy and Victoire went into the living room. Hermione and Ron had just come with their two children, Rose and Hugo. Hermione was chatting happily with Ginny, and they looked up as Teddy and Victoire entered.

"Victoire!" Hermione said, holding her arms out. Victoire laughed and hugged her aunt.

"Hi there, Aunt Hermione," Victoire said.

"Don't I get a hug?" Ginny asked, smiling. Victoire moved and hugged the redhead.

"Hi, Aunt Ginny," Victoire said, grinning.

"I see you found Teddy already," Ginny said, cocking her head in his direction.

"Of course she did," Hermione said, exchanging a look with her sister-in-law, "How are the two of you?"

"Good," Teddy said.

"Great," Victoire said, her smile widening.

"And why is that?" Ginny asked.

"I'll tell everyone at dinner," Victoire said. She shot a look at Teddy.

Hermione nodded. "I see."

"Aunt Hermione, make sure you buy Dom some books for Christmas," Victoire said, "For that matter, Aunt Ginny, buy her some too. It was her thirty-second time reading _Quidditch Through The Ages_ this morning. I swear she's going to have the whole thing memorized by the end of the year."

Ginny laughed. "She's still on that whole history kick?"

Victoire nodded. "You could say that."

"I'll have to take her to training one of these days," Ginny said, "The Harpies always let me come by for a fun game or two when they have practice, she could learn a lot from them. Theory helps, but there's nothing like playing with the professionals."

"Please do it," Victoire said, "Get her out of the house, she's driving me mad."

"Teddy could take her flying, couldn't you?" Hermione said.

"I can't teach her anything though," Teddy said, "Tori's as good a flyer as I am, there's no reason that she couldn't take Dom out."

"I've tried," Victoire said, making a face, "After fifteen minutes she always tells me that I'm too boring and that she needs to find someone who will actually challenge her."

"Well, the Harpies will do that," Ginny said, "I'll ask Angelina if she wants to come as well."

"I mean, you have over half of the old Quidditch team with you," Teddy said, "We should play a game sometime."

"I know Ron and George would be up for it," Hermione said, sighing, "I've never understood the fascination that the lot of you hold for Quidditch."

Victoire shrugged. "It's fun, it's time with friends, we always enjoy it."

"Of course, grinding Slytherin into dust on the pitch is also fun," Teddy said, grinning.

"That rivalry still exists?" Hermione asked.

"Mostly just on the pitch," Teddy said, "We get on pretty well with them otherwise."

"There's a few bad ones, but there's a few bad ones in Gryffindor too, and every other house," Victoire said.

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Jade and Ruby still giving you trouble, then?"

"They have some intense fascination with this one right here," Victoire said, elbowing Teddy, "Merlin knows why."

Teddy stuck his tongue out at her. "You're just jealous."

"Of what, the fact that Ruby and Jade are obsessed with you?" Victoire asked, "Please, I'll take not being you, thank you very much."

Hermione laughed. "You two remind me of Ron and me when we were your age. A little less intense, but still similar."

"Not you too," Victoire said, groaning.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ginny asked.

"Dom asked me when Teddy and I were getting married before we left today," Victoire said, "It's never going to happen, what is it with all of you?"

Teddy pouted. "So you wouldn't marry me, Tori?"

"Oh, shut up," Victoire said.

Ginny laughed. "I agree, Hermione, definitely you and Ronald."

"What about Hermione and me?" Ron asked, walking into the living room.

"These two are arguing like you and I did," Hermione said, smiling at him.

"Hopefully he won't leave her though," Ron said.

"That's over and done with, I thought we were done talking about it," Hermione said.

"We are," Ron said, "I just figured I'd mention it so that he doesn't make the same mistakes as I did."

"There's nothing going on with us," Victoire said, her eyes wide, "What is it with all of you?"

"We can't help it," Ginny said, smiling, "You two grew up together, we just have to tease you about it. It's all in good fun, Vic."

"We did the same to her with every boy she ever talked about," Ron said, shrugging and putting his arm around Hermione, "Of course, there were six of us."

"You didn't tease me, you just threatened to kill them if they ever hurt me," Ginny said, "You even did it to Harry and he's your best mate."

Harry walked in with Lily. He ruffled his hair. "What's this about me being Ron's best mate?"

"Oh, just how they threatened to kill all of my boyfriends, including you," Ginny said, smiling at him, "Hi there, Lils, what did Grandmum give you?"

Lily looked down at the treat in her hand. "Some fudge."

"Wait, Grandmum made fudge?" Victoire asked, her eyes widening. Lily nodded. Victoire grinned. "I'll see you lot at dinner." She turned and dashed out of the room, the sound of their laughter ringing behind her. A quick journey into the kitchen revealed a plate of fudge sitting on the sideboard. Victoire grabbed a small piece and leaned against the counter, watching her grandmother and mother cook.

"Ready for school, Vic?" Molly asked, coming to stand beside her.

Victoire shrugged. "Yes and no."

"Understandable. Another whole year with Ruby and Jade… Kill me now."

"No can do, Moll, sorry."

Molly made a face.

"You two go out to the garden," their grandmother said, "We'll be out in a moment with dinner."

Victoire nodded. The two girls went outside and sat down at one end of the table. Teddy sat on Victoire's other side. Everyone else came and sat down, and then Grandmum Molly and Fleur brought out the food.

"So, Teddy, are you looking forward to your year as Head Boy?" Bill asked as Grandmum Molly began to carve the chicken.

Teddy nodded. "Mostly looking forward to the dorm, though. I'll be glad to be rid of the lot of them in my dormitory, aside from one or two."

"Understandable," Ron said, helping himself to the beans, "Ours wasn't too bad, but I know Hermione was glad to get out of hers."

Hermione nodded. "You and Harry had the good lot in yours. Living with Lavender and Parvati was just awful. They came back to finish seventh year too, unlike some people."

Harry laughed. "You know our reasons, Hermione."

"And it was what was right for you," Ginny said, patting his hand.

"I can't wait to go to Hogwarts," Lily said, her eyes wide.

"It'll come before you know it, fire-hair," Charlie said, smiling at his niece, "Lianna knows all about that, don't you, Li?"

The pretty brown-haired woman beside him smiled. "I do. I was the youngest of four sisters. The time will fly by, Lily, and you'll be there before you know it."

"I just wish I could go now…" Lily said, sighing.

"Victoire, are you going to share your news?" Fleur asked, sitting down beside her husband.

"Oh, yes," Victoire said, "I made Prefect, everyone!"

Everyone at the table gave her a brief round of applause and she grinned.

George laughed. "Ah, everyone in the family so far, seeing as Fred and I were always just next-door neighbors."

Angelina smacked him lightly. "It's not your parents' fault that you two spent all of your time at school doing un-academic things."

"It was worth it," George said, shrugging.

"School would've been much more boring if they hadn't been around," Harry said, "How's Lee doing, George?"

"Well, last time I heard," George said, "Tara is supposed to be starting this year."

"Tara, Roxy, and Fred, all at once," Angelina said, shaking her head, "The school had better be prepared."

"Speaking of, where are Roxy and Fred?" Victoire asked.

"Staying with Angie's mum," George said, "They wanted to go visit her before they started school."

"Understandable," Hermione said, "It'll be a while till they see her again."

"So, are you three trying out for Quidditch again?" Ron asked, looking between Teddy, Victoire, and Dominique.

"Definitely," Dominique said, "I'm really excited for it."

"I don't see why I wouldn't," Victoire said.

"Sam's captain, he'd murder me if I didn't," Teddy said, "So I will be as well."

"Ah, yes, one is the Quidditch captain and the other is Head Boy," Ron said, shaking his head, "We know that scenario well, don't we, Harry? At least, Prefect and captain."

Harry nodded. "Our last year."

"Are you ready for your O.W.L.S, Molly, Vic?" Angelina asked.

"Hopefully," Molly said.

"I'm honestly petrified for them," Victoire said.

"I'll give you both a study guide at Easter," Hermione said.

"Not that they'll look at it," Ginny said.

"I expect Molly to do well," Percy said.

Audrey patted his arm. "She'll do as well as she does, and we'll be proud of her either way."

"Well, some of us didn't get very many," Grandmum Molly said, looking at George.

"He was still successful though, Molly dear," Arthur said.

"Be as that may, he still could have studied more."

George shrugged. "Maybe, but it still worked out in the end, didn't it?"

"You still shouldn't have risked it," Grandmum Molly said.

"It's over and done with, let's not fret over it," Arthur said.

"Harry, how have things been in the Auror department?" Percy asked.

Teddy turned to Victoire as the adults began to converse amongst themselves. "Are you excited to go back?"

Victoire nodded. "I mean, I'm a Prefect. I've been looking forward to it for ages. I am a bit worried about my O.W.L.S though."

"You're Victoire Weasley," Teddy said, "You'll be fine."

"Well, we can't all be geniuses like you, Ted Remus Lupin," Victoire said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"You don't have to be," Teddy said, grinning, "Just half as smart." His face grew serious. "Honestly though, Tori, you're smarter than I ever was. It'll be perfectly fine, trust me."

Victoire sighed. "I guess."

Teddy nudged her. "Tori, don't guess, I'm telling you. It's going to be fine. You worry too much, my dear."

"I know," Victoire said, shrugging, "I just… Mum and Dad always did so well at school and I want to live up to their example, so I worry about it."

"You shouldn't," Teddy said, "This is you that we're talking about. You pull Exceeds Expectations and Outstandings without even trying."

"Not Outstandings," Victoire said, "And I've gotten Exceeds Expectations twice without actually doing any work, so that's false, Teddy."

"Shame," Teddy said, "I guess you're not as smart as I thought you were." Victoire kicked him under the table. He groaned. "Tori!"

She laughed. "Don't take the mickey and I won't hurt you."

The rest of dinner went by without a hitch, and it was nearing midnight when Victoire and her family left the Burrow.

"You'll come to dinner, right?" Victoire asked, looking at Teddy as he walked with her to the apparition point, as Bill and Fleur had decided to go home that way.

"Of course," Teddy said. He hugged her tightly, and she threaded her arms around his neck, standing on the tips of her toes to reach. "I love you, Tori."

"Love you too, you stupid prat."

He smiled at her and let her go. She skipped to her father's side and took hold of his arm, and in a moment, they were outside the front gate of Shell Cottage. Victoire pushed it open and led the way for her family. She opened the front door and went up to her bedroom. A soft hoot made her look towards her owl Sterling's perch, and she gave the small grey female a few treats before going into the bathroom. It didn't take long for her to shower, change, and get into bed.

The week flew by. Ginny took Dominique to practice with the Holyhead Harpies, and it was with great happiness that Victoire sat on a log on the beach waiting for Teddy and Molly to come. Someone covered her eyes and she laughed.

"Teddy, I know that's you."

"Drat," he said, removing his hands and sticking them in his pockets as she turned to face him.

"Well, sit down," she said, patting the area beside her.

He sat down and smiled. "Almost there, Tori."

"I know," Victoire said, looking out over the ocean, "Two weeks, and then we're off."

"It's odd that it's going to be our last year together, isn't it?" Teddy asked.

"I'd rather not think about it."

"Why, Tori? Going to miss me?"

"More than I'd care to admit."

Teddy sighed and put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him. "I know, Tori, I feel the same. What am I going to do without you there to take the mickey constantly?"

"Die?"

"I'd rather not, then I'd never see you again."

Victoire smiled. "True. That would be eternal punishment right there."

"What would be eternal punishment?" Molly asked, coming down from the path to sit beside them.

"Teddy never seeing me again," Victoire said.

Molly raised her eyebrows. "I'm sure."

"She is kind of important," Teddy said, shrugging.

"And you know, I've never lived a day of my life without him somehow involved," Victoire said, "Seeing as this stupid-face came to the hospital on the day I was born."

"Harry wanted to see you," Teddy said, "If I had a choice, I don't know if I would've gone."

"Mum told me that you were a complete terror until you saw me, and then you calmed right down," Victoire said.

"Well, I'd never seen something so tiny and wrinkly before," Teddy said, grinning at her.

"I was adorable, please," Victoire said, sticking her nose in the air.

Molly laughed. "You two are ridiculous."

"Would you have us any other way?" Teddy asked.

"Probably not, no," Molly said, "Then it wouldn't be Teddy and Vic, it'd be Ted and Victoire."

"Precisely," Teddy said.

Victoire ruffled his hair, which was still a bright shade of scarlet. "Imagine if you didn't know me, Teddy."

"I can't," Teddy said.

"Which is why we're best mates," Victoire said, "And then of course there's Molly."

Molly grinned. "You two love me, you know that."

"Well, I'm obligated to, we're related," Victoire said.

"It's questionable," Teddy said, grinning.

Molly made a face at him. "You're such a liar, Lupin."

"I'm allowed to lie to you," Teddy said.

"Are you though?" Molly asked.

"He lies to everyone," Victoire said, "I've learned to just accept that."

"It's so unfortunate," Molly said, "How are we to know that you're telling the truth about your feelings towards Jade and Ruby?"

Teddy winced. "That is something that I would never lie about."

"I'd certainly hope not," Victoire said, shuddering, "Those two…"

"Are terrible," Molly said.

"Yes," Victoire said.

"At least they don't think they're in love with either of you," Teddy said, wincing again, "I can't get away from them. It's bloody awful. Merlin, last year they memorized my schedule. I swear they were waiting for me outside of every class I had."

Victoire made a face. "Ew."

"You can say that again," Teddy said.

"VIC! TEDDY! MOLLS! DINNER!" Dominique yelled, leaning out of the living room window.

"Well, up we go," Victoire said, standing up and dusting off the back of her pants.

"Let's just leave him here," Molly said, jerking her head in Teddy's direction.

"Please don't," Teddy said.

"But why? It would be so much fun," Molly said.

"We probably shouldn't," Victoire said, "My parents know he's here, they'd know he was missing."

"Darn," Molly said, "Well, come on, Lupin."

Teddy stood up and stretched. "Coming, Weasley."

They made their way to the house and into the dining room, where the rest of Victoire's family already was.

For a while, the only sound was that of chewing.

"Molly, are you looking forward to your fifth year?" Bill asked.

Molly nodded. "Definitely. It's going to be wonderful."

"'Ave you 'eard from Alexa or Monica?" Fleur asked.

"Lexa's still in the Bahamas," Victoire said, "She gets back three days before school starts. Monica's in New York till two days before."

"You're looking forward to that, aren't you, Vic?" Dominique asked.

Victoire nodded. "They're my best mates after this stupid prat over here, and I haven't seen them since June. It'll be nice to be with them again."

After dinner, Molly stood and stretched. "This was absolutely lovely, Aunt Fleur, Uncle Bill, but I should really be heading home. Dad told me I needed to be back by nine and it's getting fairly close."

"Eet was lovely to see you," Fleur said, hugging her niece, "We weell see you on the platform, I expect?"

"Of course," Molly said, "Goodbye, Dom, Lou, Vic, Teddy."

They waved at her and she went into the kitchen. "SEVENTY-THREE HUNDRED ELWOOD LANE!"

"Do you want to go outside?" Teddy asked, looking at Victoire.

"Sure," she said.

They went and laid down on the hill behind the house. Teddy stuck his arm into the air. "Remember that star?"

Victoire smiled. "We named it when I was seven. Prongs."

"Right next to Sirius," Teddy said, smiling sadly.

"And Moony right up there with them," Victoire said. She reached out and took Teddy's hand, and he laced his fingers with hers.

"What am I doing, Tori?"

"Living. Loving. Doing what you're supposed to. You're doing what they would have wanted."

Teddy nodded, craning his head back. After a few minutes of silence under the stars, he spoke. "I love you, Tori."

"I love you too, Ted Remus Lupin. You're my best mate in the entire world."

They laid there for a while, and it was nearing eleven when Teddy finally sat up. "I should really head home."

Victoire sighed, sitting up as well. "All right."

They stood up, and Teddy squeezed Victoire's hand as they walked back to the house. "This year is going to be good, Tori. I can tell already."

Victoire smiled. "It's the two of us, how could it not be?"

They went into the house. Dominique was settled on one of the couches in the living room, reading a book, Louis sat on the floor flipping through a broom care guide, and Fleur and Bill sat in armchairs by the fire sipping from mugs of tea.

"Thank you so much for dinner, Bill, Fleur," Teddy said, "It was wonderful."

"Thank you for coming," Bill said, smiling at Teddy, "We'll see you."

Teddy nodded. He hugged Victoire swiftly. His voice was a whisper as he spoke to her. "Love you to the moon and back, Tori."

Victoire smiled. "Love you too, you great prat."

Teddy took a pinch of Floo powder from a pot on the fireplace and flung it into the flames. He stepped into the emerald fire. "THIRTY-FIVE-SEVENTY ALLISTER LANE."

Victoire kissed her parents goodnight, and then went up to her room. She settled into bed with a smile on her face.

* * *

**And here we have part one of my new fanfiction.**

**I'm kind of in love with Victoire and Teddy as a couple, so that's where this story comes in.**

**It might take me a while to update after the first few chapters, but I will do my best.**

**Enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

"You first, Dom," Bill said, gesturing towards the barrier that led to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

Dom nodded. She walked swiftly towards the barrier, pushing the trolley that held her owl and trunk, and then she was gone.

"Victoire," Fleur said.

Victoire pushed her trolley through the barrier. As soon as she had made it a safe distance away, she stopped and was hugged enthusiastically.

"Alexa!" Victoire said, grinning and hugging her friend, "It looks like the Bahamas have been good to you."

Alexa smiled, her teeth white against her tan skin. She ran a hand through her black hair. "They were, but for the last couple of weeks I've been begging my parents to get us home. I've missed you, kid."

"I'm only two months younger than you, thank you very much," Victoire said with a laugh, "I missed you too."

"Seen Molls?" Alexa asked.

"Not yet," Victoire said, "I'm sure we'll find her."

"Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear," Molly said, grinning as she came up beside Alexa.

"MOLLS!" Alexa yelled. She hugged Molly swiftly. "You look good."

Molly laughed. "Thanks, Alexa. You do too."

"So, find any cute boys on the islands?" Victoire asked, raising her eyebrows at her best friend.

"Some, but I didn't really talk to any of them," Alexa said.

"Still hung up on Liam?" Victoire asked.

"Maybe…" Alexa said, flushing.

"You two are ridiculous," Molly said, shaking her head, "I mean, honestly, how long has this been going on?"

"Well, it's really a one-sided thing, seeing as _someone_ is still too scared to say a word to him," Victoire said.

"I just don't know what to say to him," Alexa said.

"Lex, we've been on a Quidditch team with him for the last two years," Victoire said, "I don't understand why you have trouble talking to him. You two can talk about Quidditch, come on."

"I just get all flustered when I see him," Alexa said.

"You are so hung up on him," Molly said, shaking her head, "Maybe try talking to some other boys, get more comfortable around him?"

"I just…" Alexa said, "Enough about me. Either of you find anyone cute?"

Molly shook her head again. "We haven't been around anyone but our family all summer, aside from Victoire's week in France."

"For the record, I didn't see anyone there," Victoire said, "All my time there was spent with the cousins on my mum's side."

"They aren't as awesome as I am, there's nothing worth saying," Molly said, grinning.

"Someone's a little cocky, aren't they?" Victoire asked.

Molly shrugged. "It's not being cocky if it's true."

Alexa laughed. "I missed being around the two of you."

Victoire smiled. "I should really go say goodbye to my parents, I'll be right back."

"Take your time," Alexa said, "Molly and I will gossip about you while you're gone."

"I'm sure," Victoire said, laughing. She left her cousin and best friend and headed for where her parents stood with Dominique. "Mum, Dad, Lex, Molls, and I were going to go get on the train, so I guess this is goodbye."

Fleur hugged her daughter tightly. "You must write, Victoire. We wish to 'ear all about your year."

Victoire nodded. "I will, mum." She turned to her father, who caught her up in his arms and pressed a kiss to her hair.

"You be good, Vic," he said, squeezing her tightly before releasing her, "Don't let Teddy talk you into anything."

Victoire laughed. "I won't, promise."

"We'll see you at Christmas," Bill said, smiling, "Go on, go find Molls and Alexa again."

Victoire smiled, pressed a kiss to her parents' cheeks, and then hurried away through the throngs of people. Someone grabbed her arm, and she stopped.

"Monica!" Victoire exclaimed.

"Hi, girlie," Monica said, her American accent more pronounced than ever.

"Monica!" Victoire said, hugging her friend, "How was New York?"

"Good," Monica said, "I saw a lot of my friends that I haven't seen since we moved over here three years ago, so it was nice."

"That's great!" Victoire said, "I'm looking for Molly and Alexa, come with me."

"Sounds good," Monica said, joining Victoire in walking down the platform.

Victoire smiled at Liam Wood, the Gryffindor Seeker and sixth year prefect, as they hurried past him, and rejoined Alexa and Molly beside the train.

"Well, goodbyes have been said, and look who I found," Victoire said, grinning.

Molly and Alexa threw their arms around Monica, who laughed and hugged them back. "Hi, guys."

"It took you long enough to get home," Molly said, releasing Monica and punching her arm lightly.

"Sorry," Monica said, smiling.

"You should be," Alexa said.

"Says the girl who was in the Bahamas longer than Monica was away," Victoire said, shaking her head, "Shall we go find a compartment?"

"Let's," Monica said.

As they started pushing their trolleys down the length of the train, someone caught Victoire from behind and threw her over their shoulder.

"TED REMUS LUPIN, YOU PUT ME DOWN RIGHT NOW," Victoire shouted, slamming her fists against his back.

"Sam, get her things, would you?" Teddy asked the tall blonde boy standing beside him, "No can do, Tori, sorry."

Sam began to push Victoire's trolley as Teddy carried Victoire alongside the train, Alexa, Monica, and Molly following and laughing. Teddy opened a compartment door and stepped inside, setting Victoire on her feet. She glared at him.

"Was that really necessary?"

He laughed. "Oh yes."

Molly stepped past Victoire and looked around the compartment, which was easily the size of three normal ones. "Teddy, this thing is huge."

"It's the Head's compartment," Teddy said.

"Who's the other head?" Alexa asked, stepping inside.

"Serenity Abrams," Sam said, following Alexa.

Victoire nodded at the mention of the tall, pretty, Muggle-born Ravenclaw. "Where is she?"

"She told me that she was going to spend the train ride with her friends and that I was welcome to bring whoever I wanted into the Head's carriage, so I figured we'd get all you Weasleys and then Sam, Birchfield, and Miller over here," Teddy said.

"Are you going to let Lucy bring Morgan?" Alexa asked, "And what about Dom, Marianne, and Alannah?"

"There's space, why not," Teddy said, shrugging, "We need to go find all of them. Sam and I will take the back end of the train, can you lot take the front?"

Victoire nodded. "I don't see why not."

They separated and began to make their way down the train. Victoire glanced into a compartment to see James, Roxanne, and Fred sitting there with two identical boys and a pretty girl with brown hair. Victoire knocked lightly on the door. James slid it open.

"Yes, Vic?"

"Teddy's letting us have free rein of the Head's carriage," Victoire said, "It's really big, and he told us to go looking for you lot, so if you'd like to join us, feel free."

"Can Declan and Aidan come?" Fred asked, gesturing towards the twin boys.

"There should be enough room," Victoire said.

"What about Sarah?" James asked.

"Of course," Victoire said, smiling at the girl, "Hello there, Sarah, it's wonderful to see you again."

Sarah smiled shyly. When she spoke, her voice was soft. "It's nice to see you too, Victoire."

"The six of you can head up to the front of the train," Victoire said, "You'll be able to tell which compartment it is, it has a huge sign on the door."

Fred nodded. He led the rest of the group out of the compartment. Victoire continued to make her way down the train, and stopped when she ran into Teddy, who was leading Dominique and her two best friends, Alannah Wood and Marianne Shields.

"Found them all," Teddy said, "Did you find James and that lot?"

Victoire nodded. "He was with Fred and Roxy. They wanted to bring three other first years with them, I told them that was fine. Hey there Dom, Alannah, Mari."

"Hi, Victoire," Marianne said, smiling. Her light brown hair fell in delicate curls around her shoulders, and she pushed it out of her face as she spoke.

"Hey Vic," Alannah said. She had a broad grin on her face.

"Did you get your hair cut?" Victoire asked as they made their way to the Head's carriage, eyeing the dark-haired girl, whose hair was angled and shoulder-length at the back.

Alannah nodded, pushing a lock of short brown hair behind her ear. "Mum did it for me this summer."

Victoire smiled to herself at the mention of Katie Wood, Alannah and Liam's mother. "It looks wonderful."

"Thank you," Alannah said.

"So how's Liam doing?" Victoire asked.

"Good, as far as I know," Alannah said, "Is Alexa still stuck on him?"

"When has she not been?" Victoire asked.

Alannah laughed. "Good point. We just need to get those two together already, they're driving me mad."

"So Liam mentioned her?" Victoire asked.

Marianne laughed. "I was staying with them for a few days while my parents went to visit my mum's sister in Spain, and he asks about her all the time, especially when Dom is around."

"He tries to keep it covert, of course," Dom said, "I kept giving him openings, but he won't admit to anything."

"Shame," Victoire said.

She pushed open the door to the Head's carriage to see that Sam sat there with Lucy, and her best friend Morgan Erland, a plain but lovely girl with curly blonde hair and brown eyes. James, Fred, Roxy, Declan, Aidan, and Sarah sat at one end of the compartment, and across from Sam sat a pretty girl and handsome boy with the same blond hair as Sam, and an attractive boy with messy dark brown hair. Alexa, Monica, and Molly sat nearby, whispering hurriedly.

"Chelsea, Nick, Liam, it's so lovely to see you!" Victoire said, grinning at the trio across from Sam.

Chelsea Edwards smiled widely. "Vic, I haven't seen you since June! You look great, if I do say so myself."

"You do too," Victoire said, "And Nick, I see you haven't changed much."

Chelsea's twin brother Nick laughed. "I'm taller, for your information."

"He still isn't as tall as I am though," Sam said, leaning across the aisle and ruffling his younger brother's hair. Nick made a face.

"Shocker," Liam said, grinning at Sam.

"Seeing as I have all of you here, I should probably tell you that you're going to have to try out for the team again," Sam said, "Not that we're going to find anyone better, but it's only fair."

Victoire shrugged. "Fair is fair."

"At least you know how good we actually are," Dominique said, "Though, Sam, I'm warning you right now, if I don't get on the team again, I will personally hit you over the head with my new Beater's bat that Mum and Dad got me for my birthday."

Sam winced. "Noted."

Alexa laughed. "I love how you're afraid of a fourteen year old, Sam."

"Who wouldn't be?" Nick asked, "Dom is scary."

"And she could out-fly any of us in here, including Sam," Liam said, grinning at Alexa.

She looked down at the floor, her hair falling to obscure her cheeks. "True."

Victoire went and sat down beside Alexa. She nudged the black-haired girl with her elbow. "So, Liam is here," Victoire said quietly.

"Oh, bugger off," Alexa said.

"It's very unfortunate," Monica said, laughing.

"They've been awkwardly not talking to each other the entire time," Molly said, shaking her head.

"Who's been awkwardly not talking to who?" Teddy asked.

"No one," Alexa said.

Teddy raised his eyebrows. "Of course, Miller."

"Shove it, Lupin."

Teddy put his hands over his heart and sighed dramatically. "I'm so hurt and offended."

"Listen to the girl, Teddy," Victoire said, laughing, "We don't need the likes of you over here."

"You may not need me over here, but you want me to be over here," Teddy said.

"False," Molly said, "We got enough of you over the holidays."

"But Alexa and Monica didn't," Teddy said.

"I got enough of you in the three minutes on the platform, thank you very much," Alexa said.

"I'm with Alexa on this one," Monica said.

Teddy made a face. "Fine. I know when I'm not wanted." He started to walk towards Sam, and then turned back to Victoire. "Tori, the Prefect's meeting starts in ten in the Prefect's carriage."

"I should probably head over then," Victoire said, sighing, "I'll be back, Lex, Molls."

"Take your time," Molly said, "Certain people are going to spend the entire train ride ogling other people in this compartment, so they wouldn't be much fun anyways."

Victoire laughed. "Of course not. Come on, Teddy."

"Chelsea, Liam, you coming?"

Chelsea and Liam nodded and stood up.

They left the compartment and walked down the train. Three doors down from theirs was the Prefect's carriage. Teddy slid open the door and they stepped inside to see almost all of the other twenty-two students who were Prefects. A tall girl with long, light brown hair and hazel eyes smiled at the four of them as they entered and sat down.

"Teddy, Victoire, Chelsea, Liam, I hope you had a good holiday," she said.

"It was absolutely wonderful," Victoire said, "I hope that yours was good, Serenity."

"It was brilliant," Serenity said, "Teddy, are you ready to start? We're just missing-" Two fifth-year Ravenclaws rushed into the compartment. Serenity shook her head. "Thomas, Alyssa, sit down."

The two Ravenclaws took their seats and Serenity clapped her hands.

"All right, everyone," she said, "My name is Serenity Abrams, and I'm your Head Girl."

"I'm Teddy Lupin," Teddy said, "Head Boy."

Serenity flicked her wand and a paper flew into the hands of everyone inside the compartment. "This is the patrol schedule, and your partners. You can trade slots with other people if it becomes necessary due to a Quidditch practice or something of the sort, but please don't make it a regular occurrence. Patrol for the train ride is easy. Keep an eye on your section of the train, go for a walk every so often, and if you see anything that's against the rules, take off points and award detentions if necessary. If you happen to have any issues with your patrol partner, please let Teddy or myself know and we'll see what we can do about it. Teddy has the password for the Gryffindor prefects, Slytherins, ask Avery."

"We don't really have much else to say," Teddy said, "If you're ill for your patrol, let Serenity or me know and we'll find someone to fill in for you. Please remember that we're setting an example for the younger students and as such, rule-breaking should be kept to a minimum, or not exist, if possible."

"That's all for now," Serenity said, "We'll meet every other Friday at eight o'clock in the empty classroom by the suit of armour on the fourth floor. You can all go now, but please remember to keep an eye on things."

Victoire looked down at the patrol schedule and groaned as everyone got up.

"What is it, Tori?" Teddy asked.

"I'm-"

"Victoire," said a tall, blonde Ravenclaw sixth-year, smiling seductively at her, "I'm really looking forward to our patrol."

"So am I, Luke," Victoire said, a pleasant smile on her face.

"Good," Luke said, "Maybe we can get to know each other a little better."

"Wouldn't that be nice," Victoire said.

Luke grinned at her again before leaving. Victoire slumped back against her seat. Teddy laughed and patted her arm. "Sorry about that, Tori. You'll have a great deal of fun with him, won't you?"

"Who are you partnered with?" Victoire asked, "Don't make fun of me until you know yourself."

Teddy looked down at the patrol schedule and paled. "In the name of Merlin's trousers, WHY?"

"Who is it?" Victoire asked.

"Brittany Stevens," Teddy whispered.

Victoire snickered. "You'll have fun with her. Almost as bad as me being paired with Handlesman, huh?"

"You're telling me," Teddy said, "Maybe I'll switch Brittany with Alana or something. I could stand being with her all evening."

"No can do, Teddy," Alana said, grinning and brushing her red hair away from her face, "I'm partnered with Jules and I made Serenity swear that she wouldn't change it. Sorry." The Hufflepuff winked at him and left the compartment, leaving Victoire and Teddy alone.

"Curse Julian Wecht and his stupid face," Teddy said, slumping back beside Victoire, "This is horrible."

"When is your first patrol?" Victoire asked.

"Friday. Yours?"

"Next Tuesday."

"Well, we can suffer together then. Come on, let's go back to the compartment."

They started off down the train. About five compartments away from the Head's carriage, Teddy spoke again. "Tori, I'll be living in the Head's dorm this year, so if you need me, come find me there. I already talked to Serenity and she said I can give you the password, just don't come in the middle of the night unless it's an emergency, and don't bring a million people with you, understand?"

Victoire nodded. "Heard and understood."

"Great," Teddy said, "The password is Dragon's Breath. The password for the common room is Alchemy."

"All right," Victoire said.

Teddy slid open the door to the compartment. "Well, this year is going to be death in a convenient little package."

Nick laughed. "Why's that?"

"Head duties, Quidditch, N.E.W.T.S," Teddy said.

Chelsea laughed. "You'll manage."

"When you're scraping the two of us and Vic off the floor, you won't be saying that anymore," Liam said, "It's going to be awful. Sam, you'd better think about our mental health when you schedule training."

"Speaking of, I'm going down and booking the pitch with Madam Hooch immediately after dinner," Sam said, "Tryouts will probably be on Friday, and hopefully our first practice will be at the start of next week. We can't begin too early."

"Madam Hooch?" James asked, looking over at them for the first time, "Like, the same Madam Hooch who was at school when Dad was there? Wouldn't she be like a billion years old by now?"

Teddy laughed and shook his head. "No, not the same one. Her niece, I believe."

"I can't believe that Professor McGonagall is still around," Fred said, "Isn't she ancient now?"

"Not as old as Dumbledore was," Chelsea said, "He was a hundred and fifteen when he died."

"She'll definitely retire soon though," said Lucy, "I'm sure of it."

"I can't imagine Hogwarts without her, can you?" asked Lucy's best friend Morgan, turning to look at everyone else, "She's been there so long."

"Professor Longbottom will be a good Headmaster though," Mari said.

"Ah, Neville," Teddy said, lounging in his seat, "Imagine the mischief that you lot will be able to-" At the sight of Victoire's raised eyebrows, he coughed. "I mean, set a good example for the younger students. Yes."

"I don't know how you ever were chosen as Head Boy," Alexa said, shaking her head, "You're worse than anyone at the pranking thing."

"James got it," Teddy said, shrugging, "Without being a Prefect first."

"Uncle Harry's dad," Victoire said in answer to the confused expression on Roxanne's face, "It's Lily's favorite love story, how Uncle Harry's parents got together."

"They were quite the pair, weren't they?" Molly asked.

"If what everyone says is true, then yes, they were," Victoire said.

A few hours later, the train pulled into the station in Hogsmeade. Victoire, Teddy, Alexa, Molly, Monica, and Sam piled into a carriage. Victoire patted the thestral as they climbed in. Old Auntie Muriel had passed during the middle of a conversation about seven years previous, and seeing as it was at a family reunion, nearly all of the Weasley children could see the horse-like creatures. That, coupled with too much time spent around Hagrid, meant that none of them were particularly afraid of the thestrals and found them rather fascinating, in the case of Lucy and Molly.

"Ah, seventh year," Sam said, leaning back in his seat, "I can feel the freedom already."

"You have captaincy duties to worry about," Molly said.

"And keeping an eye on Chelsea so that no boys try anything," Alexa said.

"And N.E.W.T.S," Victoire said.

"Don't get too comfortable," Monica said.

Sam groaned. "You just had to remind me and ruin the glory, didn't you?"

"Sorry, we just can't let you get too caught up in any of that, can we, girls?" Molly said.

"Not if we want to win the Quidditch Cup, at least," Victoire said.

"Teddy, remind me again why we spend time with these four?" Sam said.

"Because Victoire's my best mate and while I'm around, you're stuck with her," Teddy said with a shrug.

"At least we all know that he loves Vic more than you, Sam," Alexa said, grinning.

"Unfortunately," Sam said.

"Sorry, mate," Teddy said, "I've known her longer than I've known you, it can't be helped."

"Although I do drive him mad, so his sanity is questionable due to the fact that he's still friends with me," Victoire said, laughing.

"Well, who else am I supposed to spend time with during all the family gatherings?" Teddy asked, "It's definitely not going to be Molly, she's infinitely more boring when you aren't around."

"Hey!" Molly said, "I officially don't like you anymore, Ted Lupin."

"Your loss," Teddy said.

Alexa laughed. "You lot amuse me."

"Says the girl who's living in a romance novel," Victoire said.

"OH, LIAM," Teddy said, pretending to swoon.

Alexa hit him with her robe, which was folded on her lap against the summer heat. "Bugger off."

"No can do, kid, sorry," Teddy said.

"You're stuck with us," Sam said.

"A moment ago you wanted to get rid of the four of us," Monica said, looking at Sam, "I really do not understand your logic in the slightest."

Sam shrugged. "I spend too much time around this idiot over here. It was bound to become convoluted eventually."

Teddy smacked Sam, and it was with a great deal of laughter that they all piled out of the carriage and made their way into the castle and the Great Hall. Victoire settled down at one end of the table across from Molly and Alexa, with Teddy and Sam on one side and Monica on the other side of her. Dominique sat beside Alexa, and the rest of the family and their friends filed into place around the table. They left spaces between themselves for James, Fred, Roxy, and their new friends, and it was with a great deal of nervousness that they watched the doors open and Professor Longbottom lead the first-years into the Great Hall. He set down a stool at the front of the hall, and placed the Sorting Hat on it. After a few moments, the tear at the brim opened, and the hat began its song.

"_You may sit and wonder just how Sorting works,_

_And I will tell you it's quite simple,_

_Don't believe tales that say it hurts._

_Just slip me on and let me take a peek inside your head,_

_And with help from my findings,_

_I'll sort you lot instead._

_If bravery and brawn be your sort of thing,_

_Then into Gryffindor I'll place you,_

_And out your name I'll sing._

_If you're loyal, kind and true,_

_Then Hufflepuff's your home,_

_With those faithful badgers, _

_You'll never feel alone._

_If cunning and ambition are hiding in your mind,_

_Then to Slytherin you go,_

_It's filled with your kind._

_And if you're wise beyond compare,_

_Then Ravenclaw's your friend,_

_You'll never find such ready minds,_

_No matter where you search instead._

_I may be old and ragged, _

_But this I've done before._

_It's up to me to tell you_

_How to even out the score."_

The students clapped politely, and Victoire began to stare at the ceiling until they reached the "F" names.

"FINNEGAN, AIDAN," Professor Longbottom called.

Aidan hurried up to the stool and sat down. The hat was placed on his head, and within moments, the tear opened. "GRYFFINDOR."

Aidan moved down to the table and sat down beside Morgan, who patted his shoulder in congratulations.

"FINNEGAN, DECLAN."

Declan went up to the stool, and again the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR."

Victoire went back to staring at the ceiling until she heard Professor Longbottom call "POTTER, JAMES."

Victoire turned towards the stool, smiling reassuringly at James. Professor Longbottom placed the hat onto the boy's head, and it had barely touched his head when the tear opened. "GRYFFINDOR!"

James' face lit up in happiness and relief, and he hurried to take a seat beside Teddy and across from the Finnegan twins. They sat there anxiously as Professor Longbottom started on the "W" last names.

"WEASLEY, FRED," Professor Longbottom yelled.

Fred made his way to the stool and sat down. The hat was placed on his head. "GRYFFINDOR!"

Fred hurried to the table and sat down, intently watching his sister.

"WEASLEY, ROXANNE."

Roxanne was visibly shaking as the hat was lowered onto her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

She ran down from the stool to sit beside her brother, who hugged her.

"WINTERS, SARAH."

The tiny brown-haired girl went to the stool. James leaned forward in his seat. The hat sat on her head for a few moments.

"GRYFFINDOR."

James sat back in relief. She made her way to the seat beside him, and the sorting finished up with "Young, Jared."

Victoire grinned at James. "Well, you got what you wanted, didn't you?"

James wrinkled his nose at her. "Bugger off, Victoire."

Teddy laughed. "You tell her, James."

Victoire glared at Teddy. "Don't encourage him."

"So I'm supposed to encourage you instead?" Teddy asked.

"I don't see why not," Victoire said.

"We don't want you to become too overconfident," Sam said.

"Aww, why?" Victoire asked.

"We're so much more entertaining than you two are," Alexa said, "Honestly."

Teddy shook his head. "Doubtful, Miller. You couldn't be more interesting than me if you tried."

"I beg to differ," Alexa said.

"There is absolutely no way that you could be better than us at anything," Monica said, "Come on, Teddy, you know that already."

"You lot are going to drive me mad," Dom said, "Do you ever stop?"

Victoire and Teddy looked at each other. "No," they chorused.

"Shame," Dom said.

They continued to eat, and after they finished, Teddy looked at Victoire. "You've got the first years covered, right? I'll come along as far as the fifth floor, but then I'm going to go to my dormitory."

Victoire sighed. "All right."

Teddy cocked his head. "What's wrong, Tori?"

Victoire shook her head. "I just… Nothing."

"Victoire," Teddy said, "What's wrong?"

"I just don't…" Victoire trailed off, taking a deep breath, "It's just that it's your last year and I don't want for us to be apart so much."

Teddy nodded. "I know, Tori. Come on by the Heads' dormitory when you're done taking the first years, then."

"Can't you walk up to the common room with me so that I can walk down with you?" Victoire asked.

Teddy grinned. "Sure, Tori."

They called for the first years, and started up to the seventh floor. Victoire left them after they'd entered the common room, following Teddy down the stairs to the fifth floor.

"Alchemy," he said to the tapestry.

It melted into the wall, forming a door. Teddy pushed it open and gestured for Victoire to go inside. She did, gasping as she saw the room.

"Nice, isn't it?" Teddy asked.

"You can say that again," she said, turning around, "Teddy, this is great. I hope I get Head Girl."

"I'm sure you will, Tori. Don't even worry about it."

"You'd better be right," she said, "Otherwise I'd be really, really upset."

He laughed. "I'm sure you'll get it, this is you that we're talking about. Perfect grades, on the Quidditch team, prefect… You'll do fine. Don't worry about it."

"Let's just hope the Head Boy isn't someone foul, like Handlesman."

"Professor McGonagall knows that he's not Head material. Don't worry about it," Teddy said, loosening his tie and sitting down on the couch. He patted the space beside him. "C'mon, Tori, sit down."

She took off her robe and sat down beside him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side.

She yawned, lying her head on his shoulder. "It's been a long day."

"You can say that again," he said, "You should head up to bed."

"Kicking me out, are you?"

He winked. "You bet I am."

She made a face at him. "Well, I know when I'm not wanted."

"I'm just taking the mickey, Tori. Stay."

"Sounds good," she said, yawning again.

It was nearly two hours later when he shook her awake. "Curfew is in ten minutes, so you should probably head back to your dorm now."

She sighed. "I guess." She stood, and on impulse, turned and pressed her lips to his cheek. "Night, Teddy."

He smiled, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "Night, Tori."

She smiled at him before turning and leaving the room. It took her a few minutes to get up to the Gryffindor common room, and she entered it to see Molly, Monica, and Alexa sitting on one of the couches.

"What are you three doing here?" Victoire asked, approaching them.

"Avoiding Ruby and Jade," Molly said, yawning, "But it's getting close to time for me to go to bed, so I'll go up soon."

"I'll come up with you," Victoire said, "I don't really feel like sitting down here, so I might as well go to bed."

"Same," Monica said, "I'm really tired."

"I guess that means I'm coming too, since I don't want to be down here by myself," Alexa said, stretching.

"Can't say I blame you," Victoire said.

"So what was the Head's dorm like?" Molly asked as they walked towards the stairs.

"Nice," Victoire said.

"Well, when you get Head Girl seventh year, I'm going to come live in your room with you," Molly said.

"As will I," Monica said, "Ruby and Jade…" She made a noise of disgust.

"Me too," Alexa said, "You'd better hope that the bed is big."

Victoire laughed. "I just won't tell you lot the password, and then you won't be able to even get inside."

"We'd get it eventually," Alexa said.

Monica grinned. "From Thomas, since we all know he's going to get Head Boy."

"It always seems to be a Gryffindor and a Ravenclaw, doesn't it?" Molly asked, following Victoire and Alexa up the stairs.

"It seems like it, yes," Victoire said, "I'm fairly certain that second and third year are the only times that the combination has been different since we got here. I do hope it's that way seventh year if I get Head Girl, because Christopher is nice but I just… He wouldn't be good with that much authority, he's too nice, and Elijah is, well, Elijah."

"Well said," Alexa said.

"I wonder who'll get it next year," Victoire said.

"It's going to be Chelsea and Liam, let's be honest here," Molly said.

"Liam, definitely," Victoire said, snickering at the blush on Alexa's cheeks, "But it could always be Brianna. And I don't mind Christine, I could see her getting it too."

"Well, we'll see, won't we?" Alexa asked, pushing open the door to the dormitory.

"That we will," Monica said.

"Christine is nice, it's just…" Molly made a face, "Slytherin."

"It is unfortunate," Victoire said, "But she's a sweet girl."

"As sweet as a Slytherin can get," Monica said.

"She's your cousin, Monica," Alexa pointed out.

"Yeah, but I saw her all of four times until I transferred here," Monica said.

"You know, I'd think walking into a dormitory at eleven twenty, people would be quiet, but I guess not, Ruby."

"Apparently not, Jade."

Molly rolled her eyes. "You two are still here, then?"

"Don't bother," Alexa said, "Just go to bed. It's not worth it."

"Listen to Alexa," Monica said.

"Thanks for the advice, Alexa," Molly said, lying down on her bed, "Why does changing clothes have to require effort?"

"Because it does," Victoire said.

Molly groaned and sat up. "I don't like effort."

"Who does?" Alexa asked.

"Definitely not any of us," Monica said.

Victoire laughed, grabbing her clothes. "I'll be right back."

She slipped into the bathroom and changed, emerging to see Molly yawning.

"You might want to change and go to bed, Molls," Victoire said, dropping her clothes into the hamper by her bed and getting under the covers.

"Gross," Molly said, standing and going into the bathroom.

"Night, you lot," Victoire said.

"Night, Vic, Monica," Alexa said.

Monica yawned. "Night, Vic, Alexa."

Victoire rolled over, and before she knew it, she was asleep.

* * *

**A/N:**

**I'm only posting this chapter now because I dislike only having one part posted- it feels too much like a one-shot.**

**I'm going to post weekly, but I still haven't decided if that weekly will be every Saturday (A week from the posting of the first chapter) or every Monday (A week from today). We'll see what happens and how many chapters I have written by this Saturday.**


	3. Chapter 3

Friday afternoon arrived quicker than Victoire would have thought possible, and it was with a determined expression on her face that she and Alexa shouldered their brooms and walked down to the pitch, Monica and Molly behind them.

Sam and Teddy were standing in the center of the pitch when they arrived. Monica and Molly went up to the stands, while Victoire and Alexa continued towards Sam and Teddy.

Sam nodded at them as they approached him. "Ready, you two?"

"Always," Victoire said, exchanging a glance with Alexa.

Everyone else who was trying out was there within the next ten minutes. Liam came to stand next to Victoire and Alexa, smiling reassuringly at both of them. Sam blew the whistle around his neck.

"Beaters are going first," he called, "You'll work in pairs, but only one of you will make it on."

Victoire looked at Dom. The strawberry-blonde had her new Beater's bat clutched in one hand, her broom slung over her shoulder.

"She's got this," Alexa whispered.

"I know," Victoire said.

"Fleming and Nelson, you two go first," Sam said.

The pair of fourth-year boys took off into the air. Dom watched them with a smug expression on her face, and when Sam finally got to her, she went straight into the air.

Victoire applauded as Sam blew his whistle five minutes later. Dom landed, grinning.

"And, as it did last year, the second Beater's position goes to Dominique Weasley!" Sam said.

"That is such favoritism! She's practically your family!" Jared Fleming protested.

Sam narrowed his eyes. "Fleming, shut your mouth and get off the pitch. She flew ten times better than the rest of you. I want what's best for my team, and if you have a problem with the possibility that what's best might be my close friends, leave now. Those of you who didn't make it can either stay and watch the rest of the tryouts, or you can leave. Your choice. Chasers are going next. Dom is going to go up with the Bludgers, just to make things a little more challenging. Vic, Teddy, Alexa, you three can go first and set an example for everyone else here."

Victoire and Alexa high-fived, climbing onto their brooms as the Beater candidates split up, a quarter going to the stands, the rest leaving the pitch and heading back to the castle. Teddy followed them into the air, the Quaffle tucked under his arm. They began to toss it back and forth, swerving to avoid Bludgers. By the time that they had managed to maneuver and score ten goals, Sam blew his whistle.

After he and Dom had wrestled the Bludgers back into their case, Sam turned to the crowd. "Group yourselves in threes and form an orderly line. When I blow the whistle, land, and the next group, go. Dom needs to stay up in the air with the Bludgers so that we don't constantly have to put them away. Got it?"

A line formed rapidly, and Sam began to send people into the air.

The last trio landed a half hour later, and Sam looked over the group gathered in front of him. "Last year's team is still going strong. Teddy, Vic, Alexa, you're on again."

Alexa and Victoire high-fived again, Teddy tugging their ponytails.

They stepped aside and watched the rest of the tryouts. Liam made it on again as Seeker, with Victoire's cousin Lucy as the backup. Their new Keeper was a sixth-year named Jacob Smith who Victoire knew by sight, but not by name.

Victoire waved at Sam and Teddy before turning to Alexa. "Shall we? I want to work on our Herbology essay."

Alexa nodded. "You'll have to give me a few minutes to shower beforehand."

"No problem," Victoire said.

They started up towards the castle. As they passed the lake, Alexa's expression turned from elated to disgusted. "Not again."

Victoire followed her gaze to a tree by the bank. She sighed at the sight of Liam and Leticia Brown. "He's an idiot, and she's throwing herself at him. Lex, he does like you. You're just so… Elusive."

"How am I elusive?" Alexa asked.

"You never ask him for anything," Victoire said, "You could ask him for help on your Defense essay, or something like that, but you barely even talk to him outside of when he joins us for Exploding Snap in the common room."

"I just don't know what to say to him," Alexa said.

"You're Alexa Miller, you always know what to say," Victoire said, "Seriously, Lex, just talk to him. Ask him to study with you or something. I doubt that he would say no."

Alexa shook her head. "Vic, I don't know."

"I'll ask Teddy to invite him on our next Hogsmeade trip, how about that?" Victoire asked, "He can come spend time with us. For that matter, we can ask Chelsea or Nick to ask him. They're good friends, aren't they?"

Alexa's face lit up at the mention of the twins. "They are, and I don't think he'd say no to Nick like he might to you or me."

"I'll ask them, then," Victoire said, "Seriously, Lex, just spend more time with him. Ask him to help you with things. You could even ask him to come practice Quidditch with you. He's a bloody good player even if he isn't a Chaser."

"You're right," Alexa said, "And he's trying to learn how to do the Wronski Feint. We could definitely practice together, Michael was trying to teach me how to do it last summer. I mean, he broke his arm, but still."

"Your brother is an idiot," Victoire said, "How's training with Puddlemere?"

"Brilliant, as far as I know," Alexa said, "He won't tell us anything. Says it's all top secret."

"Uncle Harry could just ask Oliver," Victoire said, shaking her head, "Or I could get Louis to ask Isaac."

Alexa shrugged. "It's not that important."

Victoire grinned. "I know, but still."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, until Alexa spoke.

"Can you believe the first week of fifth year is already over?"

"It is a bit mad, I suppose," Victoire said.

"More than a bit," Alexa said, "This year is going to go fast, I can feel it."

"I can't say that's a bad thing," Victoire said, "Although it'll be sad when Teddy and Sam leave."

Alexa nodded. "I'll say. You really don't need to worry about it though."

Victoire raised her eyebrows. "Oh?"

"Teddy's going to write you practically every day, Vic," Alexa said.

Victoire shook her head. "Maybe for the first couple of weeks, but once he starts working and everything, he'll forget about me."

"You two have been practically inseparable since the day you were born, haven't you?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"He's going to write you, Vic, trust me."

"I hope you're right."

"I always am."

Victoire's eyes widened. "Someone's a bit sure of themselves."

"Why wouldn't I be?" Alexa asked, "Okay, I may not be right about everything, but I'm right about this. He needs you in his life, just like you need him in yours."

Victoire smiled slightly. "Well, I certainly hope you're right."

They climbed the stairs to Gryffindor tower and went up to their dormitory. When they walked in, Jade and Ruby were seated on Jade's bed.

"Not you two again," Jade said, glaring at the two girls.

"Hate to break it to you, Jade, but we do live here," Alexa said.

"Unfortunately," Victoire said.

"You'd think they could put us with people that actually had taste," Ruby said.

"Don't worry, we'll be gone soon," Alexa said, taking her clothes and going into the bathroom, "Some of us actually do schoolwork, you know."

"I know that's hard to believe," Victoire said, stuffing clean clothes into her bag. She raised her voice. "Lex, I'm not changing, I'm going to the Prefect's bath once we're done studying."

"All right," Alexa said, opening the bathroom door and stepping out in clean clothes. "Sounds good to me. I'll shower later, I don't want to leave you sitting here alone." She threw her dirty clothes at the hamper that she had placed beside her bed, and shouldered her bag. "All right, Vic, let's get out of here."

The two girls left the room as quickly as they could and went straight to a little-used corner of the castle. It was on the sixth floor, and it was just below Gryffindor tower. There were windows that gave a perfect view of the grounds, and comfortable window seats. Victoire dropped her bag and sat down.

"Thank Merlin that it's Friday," Alexa said, sitting down as well, "We can spend the weekend having fun instead of having to do work."

"This is why I get everything done on Fridays," Victoire said, "It means that I don't have to worry about it and I can just enjoy myself."

"This is why you're my best mate," Alexa said, "You keep me focused."

"Usually," Victoire said, grinning. Alexa rolled her eyes, and they started to work on their Herbology essays.

Alexa broke the silence a while later. "So Jacob is on the team now."

"Apparently," Victoire said.

"Know him well?" Alexa asked.

"I've never actually talked to him," Victoire said.

"Shame."

Alexa and Victoire looked up to see Monica standing there, her bag over her shoulder.

"Hey Monica," Victoire said.

"Hi," Monica said, dropping her bag and sitting down beside Alexa. "I figured I'd find you two down here. What are you doing?"

"Herbology," Alexa and Victoire chorused.

Monica grinned. "Great, I'm almost done." She opened her bag and pulled out her essay. "Either of you seen Molly?"

"No," Alexa said, "I thought you might have."

"I have no idea where she is," Victoire said, shrugging, "She'll turn up at dinner."

"I guess you're right," Monica said, "Now, back to the subject of Jacob…"

"Why are we talking about him anyways?" Victoire asked.

"He's cute," Monica said, staring pointedly at Victoire.

"And your point is?" Victoire asked.

"Go for him," Alexa said.

"What about you, Monica?" Victoire asked.

Monica shook her head. "I've got my eyes on someone better."

"Like who?" Victoire asked, "I'm going to think of someone completely random… Nick."

When Monica didn't answer, Victoire gasped. "Wait, you have a thing for _Nick._ Nick Edwards. Sam's brother. My fellow prefect. _That_ Nick?"

Monica shrugged. "He's nice, and cute."

"I just can't wrap my mind around it," Victoire said, "Nick."

Alexa laughed. "She's right, he is a really nice kid."

"I know, but it's just, it's _Nick_," Victoire said, "He's mini-Sam. I'm just so used to thinking of him as being like my sibling, just like Sam is, that it never crossed my mind that anyone would have a thing for him."

"I think you made a good choice, Mon," Alexa said, "I like Nick. He's sweet. I hope it works out for you."

"Well, last I heard, he had a thing for Gwen Kellam, that sixth year Ravenclaw girl. You know, the one with the black hair?" Monica asked, "So I don't think it's going to be happening any time soon."

"One can hope," Alexa said, grimacing, "We saw Liam and Leticia on our way up here."

Monica winced. "Ouch. Sorry, Lex."

Alexa sighed. "I figured it was still going on, but that doesn't change the fact that I was secretly hoping that it wasn't."

"I'd do the same," Victoire said, "You've liked him for how long?"

"Three years," Monica said, "It started right after we became friends, so I've been counting."

Victoire laughed. "Only you, Mon, only you."

Alexa threw an old, wadded up ball of parchment at Monica. "It has not been three years."

"Then how long has it been?" Monica asked.

"Four and a half," Alexa said, flushing as she looked at her essay.

"She just didn't tell anyone for the first year and a half," Victoire said.

"Sounds about right, yes," Alexa said.

"As fun as this has been, we should probably go back to our essays," Victoire said, "I'd really like to get this done."

"So would I," Alexa said.

They went back to their essays, occasionally exchanging smiles with one another.

At six, Victoire stood up and stretched. "I'm going to go clean up, I'll see you at dinner."

Alexa nodded. "All right."

Victoire stuffed her books into her bag and shouldered it. She hurried down the stairs to the Prefect's bath, and with a quick murmur ("Dragon eggs") the door swung open. Rummaging in her bag, she didn't look where she was going, and crashed into someone. She was only saved from falling by them catching her and holding her up.

"I'm so sor-" she began.

Teddy laughed. "No worries, Tori, just watch where you're going next time."

Victoire looked down and blushed when she saw that he was only wearing a towel. "You should probably… Um…"

"Right," Teddy said, flushing slightly. He released his grip on Victoire's waist and stepped back, running a hand through his hair. "I'll see you at dinner, I guess."

"Yeah," she whispered.

Teddy hurried away, and she waited until she had heard him pull on his clothes and leave before she turned on the tap and pulled off her clothes.

She sank into the hot water of the bath, sighing appreciatively, and floated for a few minutes before washing herself and her hair. After climbing out of the bath, she dried herself hurriedly. She slipped into her clean clothes, bundled her dirty robes into her bag, and left the Prefect's bath.

As she was going down the stairs, someone called her name.

"Victoire!"

She turned to see Jacob Smith grinning at her. "Oh, hello Jacob."

"It's Jake," he said, "You going down to dinner?"

She nodded. "In the same vein, I prefer Vic, and I am. You?"

"I am as well," he said, tousling his blond hair, "Shall we walk together?"

"Um, sure," she said.

They started off down the stairs.

"How do you think we're going to do this year?" Jake asked.

"With what?" Victoire asked.

"Quidditch, silly."

Victoire shrugged. "I mean, I think the team is good, but who knows who might surprise us. There are no guarantees with Quidditch."

"Do you really think that it's that likely that someone else will upstage us?"

"I think it's entirely possible. We're good, but who's to say that we're the best? And also, we've never worked with you. Teddy, Lex, and I have our strategy worked out, and so do Dom and Sam, and Liam knows what he's doing, but working with you means that we might have to adjust our normal patterns of play."

"Do you actually think I'm going to complicate things?"

"I never said you'd complicate them, only that we have to get used to flying with someone new."

"I suppose," Jake said, his brow wrinkled. After a moment he smiled. "So Vic, our first Hogsmeade weekend is the last weekend in September, and I was, uh, wondering if you'd go with me."

"Well, actually, I-" Victoire began, smiling slightly at his hesitation.

"Tori," Teddy sang, slipping between Victoire and Jake and putting his arm around the former, "Going to dinner?"

Victoire grinned. "I am, yes. You?"

"I am as well," Teddy said, smiling down at her, "So Tori, the first Hogsmeade weekend is the last one in September. You joining Sam and me like usual?"

"Actually, I need to ask Chels if she can ask Liam to join us, but Lex and I were going to come with you lot, if that's all right," Victoire said, "You don't have any issues with Liam tagging along, do you?"

"Of course not," Teddy said, "Anything for you or Alexa. Well, mostly for you, but you know what I mean."

"So you can't come to Hogsmeade with me, then?" Jake asked, looking crestfallen.

"Sorry, Jake," Victoire said, smiling sadly, "Lex and I planned this earlier. Maybe some other time?"

"Of course," Jake said, smiling again, "Halloween weekend?"

"Why not," Victoire said, "That sounds lovely."

"Ah, young love," Teddy said, ruffling Victoire's hair, "Well, I'll leave you two to it. Tori, see you at dinner."

Victoire nodded, and Teddy started to walk faster.

"He's a nice guy, isn't he?" Jake asked, looking after the seventh year.

Victoire nodded again, smiling softly. "The best."

"You two have known each other for a while then?" Jake asked, looking curiously at Victoire.

"Since the day I was born, actually," Victoire said, "We grew up together. He's my best mate. Knows me better than anyone, including Lex. Probably better than Dom, actually."

"You two seem like you know each other well, so I guess that's true," Jake asked, "You don't, well, like him or anything, do you?"

Victoire laughed. "No, I don't. I mean, obviously I do, he's my best mate, but not like that."

"Well, good," Jake said, grinning at her, "Means I have a chance then."

"Maybe," Victoire said, smiling at him, "No promises."

Jake sighed. "A boy can dream."

"I should go," Victoire said as they entered the Great Hall, "My friends and all of that."

"I should too," Jake said.

"Wait, Jake," Victoire said, "You're friends with Liam, right?"

"I am, why?" Jake asked.

"Put in a good word for Lex, if you don't mind," Victoire said, "She really likes him."

"Sure thing," Jake said, "See you tomorrow, maybe? We can go for a walk around the lake after lunch?"

Victoire smiled. "I'd like that."

Jake smiled, looking down at his feet. "Brilliant. See you then, Vic."

"See you," Victoire said. Jake sat down with his friends and she hurried down to the end of the table, taking her seat between Teddy and Alexa. "Hi everyone."

"What was that?" Monica asked, raising her eyebrows.

"What was what?" Victoire asked, helping herself to some pumpkin juice.

"You came in with Jacob," Alexa said.

"He prefers Jake," Victoire said.

"You came in with Jake then," Alexa said, "Spill!"

"I happened upon them coming down the stairs," Teddy said, grinning wickedly at Victoire, "He wanted to go to Hogsmeade with her. Unfortunately, we've already stolen her."

"I wouldn't say you stole me," Victoire said, "We have been planning this."

"I was going to say, you can't bail on us for the first Hogsmeade weekend," Molly said.

"Oh, like you bailed on Monica after tryouts?" Alexa asked, raising her eyebrows at Molly.

The redhead shrugged. "I wouldn't say I bailed on her. I had to talk to someone."

"Who?" Monica asked.

"No one in particular," Molly said, "It's not important."

"But it was important enough for you to bail on Monica," Victoire said.

"Okay, let me correct that," Molly said, "It was important, but not important enough for any of you to know."

"Leave the poor girl alone," Sam said, "Vic, tell us more about Jake."

Victoire raised her eyebrows at the blond boy. "Since when have you been interested in the boys in my life?"

"Since now," Sam said.

"He's right though," Monica said, "Spill, Vic."

"Nothing happened," Victoire said, "We're going for a walk after lunch tomorrow, that's all."

"That's all? You're going on a date with Jacob Smith, and you say _that's all? _Blimey, Vic, you're even more oblivious than I am," Alexa said.

"It's not a date, and I don't really think that's true, and that is all. I mean, it's not like he kissed me or anything," Victoire said.

Teddy laughed. "You must understand, Tori, to those of us who are less experienced with relationships or even just members of the opposite sex, a walk around the lake seems like a very important thing."

"I was going to say, Teddy, that Vic has never had a boyfriend, so at least you managed to catch that hole in your logic," Alexa said, "And I'm not inexperienced with boys, I just… It's_ Jacob Smith._"

"He's nice," Victoire said, shrugging, "I don't see what there is to get excited about."

Monica exchanged a look with Dom, who was seated across from her. Monica sighed. "Dom, explain."

"All the girls like Jacob," Dom said, shrugging, "Almost as much as they like Teddy and Sam. He's a big catch, Vic. He won't look twice at any of the girls that like him, no matter who they are or how gorgeous."

"Of course, you're way too…" Teddy trailed off, mumbling to himself.

"What was that, Teddy?" Victoire asked.

"Nothing," Teddy said, shaking his head.

Victoire raised her eyebrows. Teddy avoided making eye contact, and after a moment she laughed. "Well, anyways, he's nice, and I think that he's good for me, so we'll see what happens."

"You're just so bloody lucky, Vic," Monica said.

"I don't think I'd call it luck," Sam said from his seat beside Dom.

"What do you mean?" Victoire asked.

"I mean, I'm not saying that I'd ever look at you that way or anything, because I wouldn't," Sam said, "But you are really, really pretty, Vic. You don't really notice, but the guys do. The girls would hate you for it, but you're too bloody nice to all of them."

Victoire's expression turned to one of confusion. "I don't understand."

"It's the Veela blood," Molly said, "It may only be an eighth, but it's enough to have an effect on you. The only boys who don't seem to be affected by it are the ones that are related to you, or Sam, Nick, and Teddy. They'll be the same way with Dom in a couple of years, once she hits fifteen."

"But why wouldn't it effect Sam and Teddy?" Victoire asked.

"Well, Teddy grew up with you," Dom said, "He's practically like a sibling. And Sam learned from Teddy and his relationship with you, so he mimics, and Nick mimics him."

Victoire nodded. "I understand, I think. Teddy, you're not saying much."

Teddy shook his head again. "Sorry, I…" He shut his eyes for a moment before speaking. "Jake seems like a good guy, Tori, you should go for it."

Victoire smiled. "Thanks, Teddy. I will."

"Now, about that Herbology essay," Molly said, "Have you guys finished it yet?"

"Just before dinner," Monica said.

"Okay, good," Molly said, "I finished it too."

"What other important homework do we have, anyways?" Alexa asked.

"Well, I did the Transfiguration during lunch," Victoire said, "Defense, Charms, Potions, and History of Magic, I think."

"And Ancient Runes," Molly said.

"And Ancient Runes," Victoire repeated, "Potions will be easy. History of Magic will be easy, it'll just take forever. Defense shouldn't be too hard. Ancient Runes will take a while, though."

"Unfortunately," Monica said.

"We'll get it done," Victoire said, "We can always bother Sam about it."

Sam laughed. "Not going to happen, Vic. I have my own things to do this weekend."

"Sure you do," Victoire said.

"I do," Sam said.

"Don't bother him about it," Molly said, "He said he's busy."

"You two are sticking up for each other," Victoire said, looking between her cousin and Sam, "What is happening to the world?"

"Nothing," Molly said.

"Sure," Alexa said.

"Seriously," Molly said.

"Yeah, yeah, we believe you," Monica said.

"I'm being completely honest," Molly said.

"Okay, guys, drop it," Teddy said, "She said nothing is going on, so nothing is going on."

As everyone went back to their conversation, Victoire turned to Teddy.

"Is everything okay?"

"Fine."

"Teddy…"

"Seriously, Vic, it's fine."

"You never call me Vic."

"Sorry, Tori. Everything is fine. I promise."

She nodded slowly. "If you say so."

After dinner, Monica turned to everyone else. "Exploding Snap in the common room?"

"Sounds good to me," Molly said.

"Me too," Alexa said.

"Same," Sam said.

Monica looked expectantly at Teddy. "Teddy?"

"I'll pass," Teddy said, "I have a few things that I need to take care of."

Monica nodded slowly, an expression of confusion her face, before turning to Victoire. "Vic?"

"Um… We'll see," Victoire said, jerking her chin towards Teddy.

Monica nodded again, this time in understanding. "All right."

Teddy got up and left the hall. Victoire followed him, muttering the password to the Head's dorm. The tapestry melted into the wall, forming the door, and she opened it, stepping inside to see Teddy sitting on one of the couches staring at the wall.

"Teddy?" Victoire asked, her voice soft, "I know something's up."

Teddy shook his head. "No, Tori, everything's fine."

"You never bail on Exploding Snap," Victoire said, "Everything is _not_ fine."

Teddy shrugged. "I don't know, Tori, it just hit me all of a sudden."

Victoire shut the door and walked over to sit beside him. "What did?"

"You're not little anymore," Teddy said.

"I haven't been little for a while, Teddy."

"No, I mean…" He shook his head. "You're talking to other people now, branching out, finding new social circles. I'm just not used to it."

Victoire's eyes widened in understanding. She slid closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I'm not going anywhere, Teddy, I promise you that."

He lifted his arm, sliding it over her shoulders and pulling her against him. "You'd better not be. I need my best mate."

"And she needs you," Victoire said, smiling.

"Good," he said.

They sat there in silence for a while until Victoire removed her arms from his waist. "Come on, we're going to go play Exploding Snap."

Teddy laughed. "All right."

They stood and started towards the door. He caught her hand just before she opened it, and she turned towards him.

"Yes, Teddy?"

"Thanks, Tori."

"Anytime."

She smiled at him and opened the door. They started up towards Gryffindor tower, and entered the common room to hear Monica and Alexa arguing.

"What now?" Victoire asked, groaning.

Teddy shrugged. "Let's go find out."

They approached the group and sat down on the end of the couch, Victoire squished between Sam and Teddy.

"What made them start this time?" Victoire asked, looking at Sam.

"I don't even know," Sam said, looking from Monica to Alexa and back again. "They just started arguing with each other before we could even start the game."

Victoire nodded knowingly. She put two fingers in her mouth and gave an earsplitting whistle.

The entire common room fell silent.

She waved at everyone before turning to Monica and Alexa. "I hear you two started arguing as soon as you got up here."

"We haven't even started the game yet," Molly volunteered.

"Well, now you can deal me and Teddy in," Victoire said.

"I thought you had things to do," Molly said, looking at Teddy.

"They didn't take as long as I thought they would," Teddy said.

Molly nodded. "I see."

"Let's play," Victoire said, leaning forward.

Monica dealt the cards, and they began their game.

Three games later, Teddy stood up. "I should probably head back to my dormitory."

"I'll walk with you," Victoire said, standing as well.

"You sure?" Teddy asked.

She nodded. "Positive." She turned to Molly, Monica, and Alexa. "I'll be back, guys, don't wait up for me."

"Yes ma'am," Monica said, saluting Victoire.

Victoire followed Teddy out of the common room, reaching for his hand. They walked wordlessly down to the entrance to the Head's dormitory, and stopped just outside.

"Thanks, Tori," Teddy said.

Victoire stood on her toes and kissed his cheek. "Je t'aime," she murmured, "Goodnight, Teddy."

"Night, Tori," Teddy said, ruffling her hair. "I love you too."

She smiled, squeezed his hand, and went back upstairs.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Sorry it took me a day longer than planned to upload! I had a ton of work last night and as such, no time, but here's chapter three.**


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, Victoire woke up before anyone else in the dormitory, and it was with great care to not wake anyone up that she slipped into her clothes for the day and exited the room. She went down to breakfast, taking her usual seat next to Teddy. Chelsea sat across from him, her friend Annie beside her.

"Morning, everyone," Victoire said, settling down on the bench.

"Morning, Vic," Chelsea said.

"Good morning," Annie said.

Teddy tugged on Victoire's ponytail by way of greeting, and she rolled her eyes before looking at Chelsea. "Chels, you're coming with us to Hogsmeade, right?"

Chelsea nodded. "That was the plan, yes. Why?"

"Can you ask Nick to ask Liam if he'd like to come with us?" Victoire asked, "I would, but I'm not particularly close to him. You know, for Lexa and all that?"

Chelsea smiled. "Of course I'll ask him. Last I heard, he had no idea who he was going with, so I'm sure he'd be willing to come with us."

"Brilliant," Victoire said, "Thanks, Chels."

"Anytime," Chelsea said.

Victoire turned to Teddy. "You're awfully vocal this morning."

He groaned. "I don't want to be awake."

"Teddy, it's Saturday, and you know how to get into the kitchens. You don't need to be awake right now."

"I know, but you're going to be otherwise occupied today and I wanted to see you while I had the chance."

Victoire rolled her eyes. "We've been over this, Teddy. I'm not going anywhere. I'll be at lunch too."

"I just want as much time with you as possible."

Victoire smiled. "You're sweet."

"Never call me sweet again."

"Yes sir."

They started to eat. Monica, Molly, and Alexa arrived a few minutes later.

"Way to leave without us, Vic," Monica said, taking the seat that Chelsea had just vacated.

Victoire shrugged. "Sorry."

"No you're not," Alexa said.

"Okay, you caught me," Victoire said, grinning, "You guys were still asleep, I didn't want to bother you and make you get up before you were ready."

Molly sighed. "Hiding your failure under a mask of consideration."

"I did not fail," Victoire said, "I was trying to be nice."

"Of course you were," Monica said.

"Oh, shut it, all of you," Victoire said.

Alexa laughed.

After breakfast, Victoire, Alexa, Monica, and Molly went back to the common room to do homework.

About an hour after they started, Molly stood. "I've got to go, guys, I'll see you at lunch."

"Where are you going?" Monica asked.

"I have to meet with someone about something," Molly said.

"Okay…" Monica said.

"See you guys," Molly said.

She shouldered her bag and exited the room through the portrait hole. Victoire exchanged glances with Monica and Alexa.

"I'll get James to give me the Cloak one of these days," Victoire muttered to Alexa, "I'll go see what she's doing. She's never secretive like this."

Alexa nodded. "Does he know that you know that he has it?"

Victoire shrugged. "I have no idea. Probably not, but Uncle Harry told Teddy, and Teddy told me, so it shouldn't be too hard to get it."

"Let's hope," Alexa said.

They went back to their work, each girl glancing at the portrait hole every so often.

Eventually, Monica stood. "Lunch?"

"Let's," Alexa said.

Victoire stood, shouldering her bag, "I'm ready."

"Let's drop these upstairs first," Monica said.

"Good idea," Victoire said.

They went up to their dormitory and dropped off their bags before starting down to the Great Hall.

"So, you're close to your walk," Alexa said, elbowing Victoire as they walked down the stairs.

"Are you guys still on that?" Victoire asked, "It's not that big a deal. If anything, you should be coming, Lexa, we need to get to know him since we're going to be on a team with him for the next year."

"She's more concerned about getting to know Liam," Monica said, snickering.

Alexa rolled her eyes. "And you want to get to know Nick, so there you go."

Monica shrugged. "Not as much as Liam. You've been hung up on him for so long."

"And she will continue to be," Victoire said, grinning, "He's a good kid though, she made a good choice."

"I knew I did, but all of you insist on constantly taking the mickey about it," Alexa said, "I really don't understand why."

"Because we need to do something to amuse ourselves," Victoire said.

"And teasing you about Liam is easy and readily available," Monica said, "You should talk to him, Lex."

"And make a fool out of myself? No thanks," Alexa said.

"You wouldn't make a fool out of yourself, Lex," Monica said, "I'm sure he wants to get to know you too."

"I doubt it," Alexa said, her shoulders slumping, "He's still hung up on Leticia Brown."

"It's because she's there," Victoire said, "Everyone else thinks that he's so hung up on her that they don't even try. They're not official, so why let her stop you? You know as well as anyone that she's got about four different boyfriends at any given time. Talk to Liam. Get to know him. He could change his mind really easily."

"Honestly, Lex," Monica said, "You're wonderful, he'll change his mind."

"You're one to talk," Alexa said, "You never talk to Nick."

"Well, I was going to ask him for help on Defense, so…" Monica trailed off, grinning, as they walked into the Great Hall.

"And look who it is," Victoire said, nodding towards their usual end of the table. Chelsea and Nick sat there, pouring over a book.

"Allow me," Monica said. She led the way to the end of the table, taking the seat beside Nick. Alexa and Victoire sat opposite her.

"Hi, Monica," Nick said, looking up from the book.

"Hey Nick," Monica said, smiling, "I had a question for you, actually."

"And that question was…" Nick said.

"I was wondering if you would help me out with Defense," Monica said, "I'm having a bit of trouble, and I know you were top of the class last year."

Nick smiled. "Sure, Monica. After lunch?"

"Sounds great," Monica said.

Nick turned to Alexa. "Alexa, I talked to Liam, he's coming with us to Hogsmeade."

"Does everyone know about this except him?" Alexa asked, flushing.

The rest of the group exchanged glances. "Yes," they chorused.

"Drat," Alexa said.

Chelsea snickered, falling silent when Liam sat down next to Alexa.

"Hi everyone," Liam said.

There was a chorus of hellos, Alexa's a whisper.

"Are you still working on the Wronski Feint?" Monica asked, looking at Liam.

"I am, why?" Liam said.

"Alexa mentioned that she wanted to learn it, that's all," Monica said.

Liam looked at Alexa, smiling good-naturedly. "You want to learn it?"

Alexa looked up from her food. "Uh, yes."

"Well, we'll have to practice together sometime," Liam said.

Alexa nodded slowly. "Sounds good."

"Are we talking Quidditch practice?"

Victoire looked up to see Sam, Teddy, and Molly. Sam took a seat next to Chelsea, ruffling her hair, and Molly went to sit beside Monica. Teddy sat down next to Victoire.

"Yeah, we were," Alexa said, "Why?"

"I talked to Madam Hooch," Sam said, "Our first practice is on Wednesday. We're the first team to book the pitch for a practice, we have it every Wednesday from now on. I know that some of you will have to coordinate with Prefect duties, and I trust you guys, all I ask is that you try to make it to as much practice as possible."

"Aye-aye, Captain," Victoire said.

"If you ever need me to, Vic, Teddy, Liam, I'm willing to fill in for you on patrol," Chelsea said, "I don't have much going on, so it's not a problem to do it."

"Speaking of, how was Brittany?" Victoire asked, turning to Teddy.

He grimaced. "It was painful, Tori. I am telling you. Painful. I'm playing with the schedules and trying to figure out who I can switch with because I do not want to have the spend the entire year with her."

"I can't say I blame you," Victoire said, shuddering, "I'm stuck with Handlesman for the entire year."

"I do not envy you for that one," Teddy said, "At least with Brittany, if you get her started talking about something, she'll just ramble on for the entire night and leave you alone. Handlesman, on the other hand…"

"It is really unfortunate," Victoire said.

"You'll manage though, I'm sure," Teddy said.

"Hopefully," Victoire said, "Otherwise you'll be scraping me off the floor of the common room by the end of the year."

"Let's hope I don't have to do that," Teddy said.

"Honestly," Victoire said.

"Let's just hope he doesn't end up on the wrong end of her Bat-Bogey hex," Molly said, "Aunt Ginny teaching her that thing might not have been the wisest decision."

"Well, it means I can defend myself against the gits in this school," Victoire said, "It also gives me a very effective threat."

Monica laughed. "Merlin knows we all need one of those."

Victoire nodded. "Anyone seen James or Fred and Roxy?"

"Nope," Molly said, "Last time I saw them was last night. They were talking to Dom."

"Well, at least she's keeping an eye on them," Monica said, helping herself to the potatoes.

"Better her than most of us, I'd think," Alexa said.

"I'm with Lex on that," Sam said.

"I dunno," Liam said, "Knowing Dom from Quidditch, she can be a bit of a firecracker when you get her going."

"Which is why she's perfect to keep an eye on them," Victoire said.

"I think Liam might be right," Teddy said, "As one prankster observing another, I can say that she might not be the most trustworthy person to keep an eye on the little ones."

"They're hardly little," Molly said.

"Littler than me," Teddy said, shrugging.

"Now that Liam and Teddy mention it, I have to say they're probably right," Monica said.

"I saw them this morning," Nick said, "They looked fine, and perfectly well behaved."

Molly and Victoire exchanged a glance.

"In our family, perfectly well behaved tends to mean something ridiculous is about to happen," Molly said.

"Especially when Uncle George's kids are involved," Victoire said.

"I do remember Dad mentioning George and…" Liam trailed off.

"Uncle Fred?" Molly asked, "Yeah."

"You guys still talk about him?" Liam asked.

"It's not really a touchy subject anymore," Victoire said.

"Besides, he's made it pretty clear that if we don't talk about him, he won't be happy," Molly said.

"How so?" Nick asked.

"Uncle Fred and Uncle George planned something before the Final Battle," Victoire said.

"They both have a few charmed portraits. Of course, Uncle George's won't be any good till he gets old and dies, but Uncle Fred's are," Molly said.

"There's one on the wall in the Burrow," Teddy said.

"And at Uncle George's," Molly said, "And at both branches of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

"Uncle Fred is still Uncle Fred," Victoire said, "He just… Can't leave the wall."

"Well, that's clever," Liam said.

"He wanted to be able to keep an eye on things," Victoire said.

"He told me that he would've wanted a portrait either way," Teddy said, "He and George just thought it might be useful, given what they were walking into, and he was right."

"It's certainly very nice," Molly said, "It's not the same, obviously, but it means he gets to see all of his nieces and nephews, and think up new ideas for the shop with Uncle George."

"We're all very grateful for it," Victoire said.

"Uncle George always tells us stories about Grandmum's face when she first saw the portrait in the Burrow," Molly said, "She didn't know about it, Uncle Bill, Uncle Charlie, and Uncle George got the whole thing together and surprised her on her birthday after the battle."

"It's been good," Victoire said.

"He's certainly a funny one," Sam said, "I talked to him a couple times, he still hasn't lost his humour."

"Well, I'd certainly hope not," Nick said, "I love Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I've pranked Chels so many times."

Chelsea rolled her eyes. "And I've pranked him back."

"And they've both pranked me," Liam said dryly.

"We get things for free since we're family," Victoire said, "It's been a bit of a problem with Fred and Roxy."

"They certainly inherited Uncle George's penchant for pranking people," Molly said.

"They've corrupted James almost as much," Victoire said.

"Well, that's good," Teddy said, "It means someone will be able to take over for Sam and I once we leave."

"You've been tame so far," Monica said, raising her eyebrows.

"We've got some plans," Sam said.

"I can't decide if I should be scared or not," Chelsea said.

"They don't involve any of you," Sam said.

"It'll be a laugh is all," Teddy said, "They're perfectly harmless."

"Your definition of perfectly harmless, or everyone else's?" Victoire asked.

"I dunno," Teddy said, shrugging, "We tried them on Sam's cousin Jeremy over the summer."

"He wasn't happy," Sam said.

Chelsea snickered. "So it's those ones."

"You aren't allowed to say anything to anyone," Sam said.

Chelsea saluted him. "Yes sir."

"Chelsea," Victoire sang.

"Can't, Vic, sorry," Chelsea said, "I will tell you that it's absolutely hilarious though."

"If you find out, it'll take out half the fun," Teddy said.

Victoire shook her head, putting down her napkin. "I swear, if you two hurt anyone…"

"We won't," Sam said.

"At least, not on purpose," Teddy said.

Victoire opened her mouth to argue, and then snapped it shut when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned around to see Jake smiling at her.

"Hi, Vic."

"Hi Jake!"

"Are you done eating?"

Victoire nodded. "Yeah."

"Shall we?" he asked.

Victoire smiled. "We shall." She tugged on Teddy's hair and stood up. "See you guys later. Teddy, remember what I said."

"Yes ma'am," Teddy said, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

She stuck her tongue out at him and started out of the Great Hall with Jake.

They walked in silence until they passed through the front doors, and then Jake spoke.

"So," he said, "You've got how many siblings?"

"Two," Victoire said, "Dom, she's fourteen, and Louis, he's ten. He'll start here next year. You?"

"One older sister, Mia," Jake said, "She's turning twenty in about a month, she works at Gringotts."

"I wonder if my dad knows her," Victoire said, "He's been working at Gringotts for a long time."

"What does he do?" Jake asked.

"He was a Curse-Breaker for a while, but now he mostly just deals with inheritances and things like that," Victoire said, "Same with my mum. What does your sister do?"

"Curse Breaking," Jake said, smiling.

"It seems like such an interesting job," Victoire said.

Jake shrugged. "She never says much about it. So how long have you been flying?"

"Well, strictly speaking, only about eight years," Victoire said, "My parents bought me my first broom when I was seven. Uncle George started teaching me to fly when I was four. Mum and Dad didn't know, he's always been a tricky one."

"He owns Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, doesn't he?" Jake asked.

Victoire nodded. "He runs it with his wife, my auntie Angelina, and then my uncle Ron helps out sometimes, but he's vice-president of the Auror department so he doesn't have that much time to spare. He just likes it."

"I keep forgetting that you're related to the Golden Trio," Jake said, ruffling his hair.

Victoire laughed. "I do too, sometimes. It's hard to think of them as anything but Uncle Ron, Uncle Harry, and Aunt Hermione, because that's what they were first."

"Still, it's the Golden Trio," Jake said.

"I know," Victoire said, "I get that a lot. To me, they're just members of my absolutely mental family. Trust me."

"Your entire family is famous," Jake said, "My mum always talks about what your grandma said when she was fighting Bellatrix Lestrange."

"Oh, you mean the _Not my daughter, you bitch_ line?" Victoire asked, laughing, "Yeah, that one has been spread around quite a lot. Grandmum gets nasty when you make her mad. She's gone off on Uncle George once or twice, it's never been pretty. Aunt Ginny's the same way."

"Remind me to never make your family mad," Jake said.

"Will do," Victoire said, smiling, "Do I need to worry about yours?"

"I don't think so," Jake said, "Mum was a Hufflepuff and while she can be downright scary, it takes a lot to make her that angry. I've only ever seen her be that mad once. Dad was a Ravenclaw and he's always so absorbed in his work that he wouldn't pay attention long enough to get angry with anyone. Mia's not home often enough to be any sort of an issue, so I think you're safe."

Victoire laughed. "Good."

They walked around the lake for a while longer and then parted at the doors, Jake pressing a kiss to Victoire's cheek before smiling and hurrying away. She went up to the common room, and was bombarded by Monica, Molly, and Alexa as soon as she sat down.

"So, how was it?" Monica asked.

"Was he nice?" Molly asked.

"Did he kiss you?" Alexa asked.

"Good, yes, and on the cheek," Victoire said, shaking her head, "You three are ridiculous."

"When are you two meeting next?" Molly asked.

"We didn't plan anything," Victoire said, shrugging, "I've got patrol duties on Tuesday, and we'll see each other at Quidditch practice on Wednesday."

"You two are so adorable," Monica said.

"There's nothing going on yet," Victoire said.

"Yet," Alexa said, grinning, "That implies eventually."

"Well, I don't know," Victoire said, "He might be trying to be nice so that he'll fit in on the team, or something."

"If he was trying to fit in on the team, he'd be down here trying to befriend Alexa too," Monica said, "As it stands, I think it's safe to say that he's interested in you, not the team."

"I don't know," Victoire said, "Even if he is interested in me, I don't know if I really want a boyfriend right now."

"Victoire, this is you we're talking about," Alexa said, "You could have any boy you wanted at the snap of a finger, and yet you haven't. Why?"

"Because it just doesn't seem right to me," Victoire said, "And I don't know if I really like him that way anyways."

"Spend time with him and see how it goes," Molly said, "You might be surprised."

"Oh, because you're the relationship expert all of a sudden," Monica said, raising her eyebrows.

"I just know from talking to Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron that sometimes you end up seeing people differently," Molly said, shrugging, "Same with Uncle Harry. It took him six years to see Aunt Ginny as anything but Uncle Ron's little sister, so it kind of makes sense."

"You two would be really cute though, Vic," Alexa said, "Seriously, see where it goes."

"Once things work out with Liam, we can go on a double date," Victoire said, grinning.

"Triple if Monica gets together with Nick," Alexa said.

Monica laughed. "Sounds good."

"See, you're open to the idea already," Alexa said, grinning at Victoire.

Victoire rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, maybe a little bit. But I'm not going to go chasing after it. If it happens, it happens. There will be other boys."

"But so many people end up marrying whoever they were seriously dating while they were at Hogwarts," Alexa said, "Don't you want that?"

"I don't know," Victoire said, "I've been talking to him for all of a couple days, it's a bit early to say if I want to marry him or not."

"Besides, we all know that she's going to marry Lupin," Monica said, yawning as she slumped against the couch.

Victoire's mouth dropped. "Me, marry Teddy Lupin? Are you mad, Mon? He's my best mate."

"Exactly," Monica said, "And you have to admit he's attractive."

"I don't think about him like that!" Victoire said, her eyes wide, "Ever. He's my best mate, not a potential boyfriend."

"Now that I think about it, she is right," Molly said, "And there's the added bonus that he can look like whatever you want him to."

"You lot are ridiculous," Victoire said, "I repeat: he is my best mate."

"So am I, does that mean you don't find me attractive?" Alexa asked, grinning.

Victoire threw a pillow at her. "Oh, shut up."

* * *

They went to dinner a little while later, only to walk in on a heated argument between Teddy and Sam.

"Well, you can't just do something like that and not tell me!" Teddy said.

Sam rolled his eyes. "You're one to talk, Lupin. You might have mentioned that one little detail, you know?"

"It's hardly something you haven't known about for the last three months!"

"You never confirmed whether it was true or not, I just made fun of you for it all the time. The two are not the same thing."

Teddy's mouth dropped. "You still should have told me, you prat!"

"And you should have told me too, or the other person who's involved, but you didn't, so there you go."

"Sam! You know why I haven't said anything, so don't even start with me."

"Too late."

"What did we walk in on?" Victoire asked, exchanging a glance with Monica.

She shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea."

"Vic, I think it's whistle time again," Alexa said, eyeing the boys warily.

Victoire nodded. She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly. Teddy and Sam fell silent.

"Oh, hi there, you lot," Sam said.

"What in Merlin's name were you two arguing about?" Monica asked, taking a seat next to Sam.

Sam and Teddy eyed each other and nodded. "Don't worry about it," they chorused.

"I swear if you two say it wasn't important…" Victoire trailed off and sat down beside Teddy.

"It was, but it's nothing you guys need to worry about," Sam said.

Molly sat down next to Victoire, shaking her head. "Sometimes I don't know what to do with the two of you."

"Do nothing," Alexa said, sitting down beside Monica, "They're not worth the effort."

Victoire shook her head. "They never make sense, Lexa, there's no point in worrying about them."

"Wow, Tori, thanks," Teddy said.

She ruffled his hair. "No problem, Lupin."

Monica sighed. "Why did I choose the weird bunch of people to be friends with?"

"Because it was us or Jade and Ruby," Molly said, "And you went with the better, albeit mental, option."

"That about sums it up," Alexa said, nodding.

"I question my decision making skills," Monica said, "Jade and Ruby are bad, but sometimes I swear you guys are worse."

Victoire mock-gasped, holding a hand to her heart. "How could you ever say that? We're flawless."

Sam chuckled. "I have to disagree with that statement."

"Only one of us here is flawless," Teddy said, slinging his arm around Victoire's shoulders. She looked at him expectantly. "That person is me."

"Oh, shut up," Alexa said. She balled up her napkin and threw it at him. "If anyone here is flawless, it's me."

"Just by claiming that you're flawless, you automatically make yourself flawed," Molly said, "A flawless person should be humble and not push their flawlessness at everyone else."

"I don't know if that's possible," Victoire said, "A flawless person inherently pushes their flawlessness at other people, because they're so perfect that they can't hide it, even if they don't brag about it."

Monica laughed. "We all know that the most flawless person in this room isn't sitting with us right now."

"And that is?" Sam asked.

Victoire grinned. "Sammy boy, I don't think you want to know."

"Lex?" he asked, looking at the black-haired girl.

Alexa shook her head. "You really don't want to know, it will make you feel unbelievably uncomfortable."

"Molls?" Sam asked.

"Nope," Molly said, "It's a little bit too awkward for you to hear."

"I wouldn't call it awkward," Victoire said, "Just… Not something he would want to here."

"It's awkward for him," Alexa said.

"Not to mention me," Monica said.

"So this is the boy that Monica is hung up on?" Teddy asked.

"You could say that, yes," Victoire said.

"It's not that you could say that," Molly said, "It is."

"I don't know if Molls, Lexa, or I agree with the assessment that he's flawless, but it would still be uncomfortable for you two," Victoire said.

"It isn't either of us, is it?" Teddy asked.

Monica snickered. "Yeah right."

"Monica, I would like to remind you of the statement you made earlier," Molly said, "And Lex, you agreed with her."

Alexa rolled her eyes. "Well, it was true."

"And this statement was…" Sam trailed off.

"This one is actually awkward," Victoire said.

"You have to tell us something," Teddy said.

"You haven't told us anything," Monica said, "As such, we have absolutely no reason to tell you what we were talking about."

"Now that is just unfair," Sam said.

"It's actually perfectly fair," Molly said, "You tell us something, we tell you something. Information exchange."

Teddy and Sam exchanged a glance.

"No, I think we're okay," Teddy said.

"Well, we could tell them about-" Sam began.

Teddy cut him off. "No, Sam."

"You sure?"

"Positive, you idiot."

Victoire raised her eyebrows. Teddy patted her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Tori."

"If you say so, Teddy."

* * *

That evening found Victoire sitting in one of the overstuffed armchairs by the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, parchment on her lap and a quill in her hand.

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_I'm sorry I didn't write you on Wednesday, I was a bit busy getting settled in._

_Things are going well so far, I think. I don't know if Dom has written you yet or not, but I just wanted to let you know that we both made it back on the Quidditch team. Everyone did, actually, and we have a new Keeper. He's a sixth year, his name is Jacob Smith. I think his mum was in Uncle Charlie's class at school, but I might be wrong. _

_He's very nice, and we've spent some time together. I don't know if it's going anywhere, but if it does, I'm bringing him around over the winter holidays, if that's all right._

_Teddy's fine, as far as I can tell. He and Sam are hiding something, and they won't tell us what it is, and I think Molly is too, but I'm going to leave it be. They'll say something when the time is right._

_James, Fred, and Roxy seem to have settled in fine, but I haven't seen them much. I can't decide if that's a good or a bad thing. Dom's been keeping an eye on them, but as it was pointed out to me, that might not actually be the best thing. I'll try and find them soon, but we'll see what happens._

_My first patrol is on Tuesday evening, and my patrol partner is terrible, so it's certainly going to be an interesting time. _

_I'll write again soon, I promise._

_Love,_

_Victoire_

She folded the letter up and slipped it into an envelope. After pulling on a jumper, she hurried out of the common room and up to the Owlery. Sterling flew down to her, perching on the ledge and holding her leg out obediently. Victoire tied the letter to Sterling's leg securely and stroked the owl's head with one finger.

"Take that to Mum and Dad, all right?" Victoire said.

Sterling took off into the air, doing a loop once she exited the window before starting off in the direction of home.

Victoire watched her go, sighing to herself, and then headed back to Gryffindor tower.

When she entered the common room, she saw Teddy and Sam sitting in front of the fireplace, so she went and joined them.

"Hi Vic," Sam said, his gaze wandering over the fireplace.

"Hey Sam, hey Teddy," Victoire said, sitting down beside Teddy on the loveseat.

Teddy nodded in greeting.

"You two sure seem to be having a lot of fun over here," Victoire said, grinning.

"It's been a long day," Teddy said.

"I'll bet," Victoire said, "You beat me down to breakfast for the third time since we've started going to school together. That says something."

Sam laughed. "Yeah, he came in and dragged me out of bed much earlier than I would've liked to wake up."

"That's not very nice," Victoire said, ruffling Teddy's hair.

"I didn't feel like going down to breakfast alone," Teddy said, shrugging.

"I can't say I blame you," Victoire said, "It's awkward being by yourself in the Great Hall."

"Given that we've taken over an entire section of Gryffindor's table, I'll say," Sam said, "Imagine if you were the only one from our bunch sitting there with all these empty seats around you."

Victoire made a face before sitting up abruptly. "DOM!"

Her sister turned and walked away from the stairs to the girl's dormitory. "Yeah, Vic?"

"I wrote Mum and Dad earlier," Victoire said, "I told them we both got on the team again, but you might want to consider writing them too."

"Yes, Mother," Dom said, rolling her eyes.

"Have you seen James?" Teddy asked, "I haven't seen him much and I want to check on him."

Dom's gaze softened. "I saw him at dinner, but you lot were already gone by the time he got there. He's probably up in his dormitory at this point."

"Well, if you see him, tell him he's coming down to Hagrid's with me tomorrow," Teddy said.

"You're going down to Hagrid's?" Victoire asked.

Teddy nodded. "He sent me a letter at breakfast, I got it before you came. All of you Weasleys are invited, and so is James."

"Well, count me in," Dom said, "I miss him."

"I do too," Victoire said, "It's been a long time since I've been down to visit him."

"Well, we'll all go down then," Teddy said, "He never specified who I should bring, only that all of you could come, so I'm sure he'll be prepared for all of us."

"Great," Alexa said.

They carried on with their conversation late into the night, forgetting about time and their location, and when they all parted, it was with smiles and exchanges of hugs.


	5. Chapter 5

It was with a groan that Victoire got out of bed and started to dress that Tuesday morning. On either side of her, Molly and Alexa were doing the same, Monica across the room.

"Someone remind me again why we elected to take an extra class that isn't required for any of the jobs we want?" Molly asked.

Victoire shrugged, pulling on her shirt. "We think Ancient Runes is interesting, that's why."

"But it's so much effort," Alexa said, "I want to be a Quidditch player. Sleep is important to Quidditch. Let's think about how interesting sleeping is, how about that?"

"We can't think about how interesting sleeping is while we're doing it, Lex," Monica said.

"Well, at least the gem twins aren't here right now," Alexa said.

"It certainly makes the morning a bit more pleasant," Molly said.

"Not wanting to spend forty-five minutes on your makeup makes for a simple morning," Victoire said. She bent down and slipped on her flats. "Besides, I'd rather get that extra bit of sleep. I mean, think about it, Molls. They do that every day. We still get enough sleep."

"I suppose," Molly said.

"I like Ancient Runes," Monica said, "I don't know why you guys don't."

"I do," Victoire said, "I don't know what they're on about, but I do."

"I do, I just like to complain," Molly said, falling back onto her bed.

"Nope, Molls, get back up," Victoire said, "If you stay there, you'll fall asleep, and you know as well as I do that I won't be able to wake you up for another four hours."

"So maybe it's a good idea for me to stay here," Molly said.

Alexa rolled her eyes. "Weasley, get your butt up."

"You could be talking to Vic, you know," Molly said.

"Alright then, daughter of Percy Weasley, get your butt up," Monica said.

"Much better," Molly said, standing.

Victoire laughed and shook her head. "You lot are absolutely ridiculous."

"I didn't do anything," Alexa said, shrugging.

"Sure you didn't," Victoire said.

They went down to breakfast, joking and laughing with one another. They were nearly done eating when Sam and Teddy arrived, trailed by Ruby and Jade, who were eyeing them hungrily.

"Teddy, your fan club is here," Victoire said, helping herself to some sausages.

Teddy dropped into the seat beside her, groaning. "I know, and it's the worst, and I want them to go away."

Molly laughed. "They won't go away until you get a girlfriend, Ted."

"And maybe not even then," Monica said.

"Don't suggest that," Sam said, making a face as he reached across Molly for the marmalade, "I just want them to stop."

"They're not going to," Alexa said, "You two are popular, you're reasonably attractive, you're good at Quidditch, Teddy is Head Boy…"

"What do you mean, reasonably attractive?" Teddy asked, raising his eyebrows.

Victoire snickered. "I don't think you need to worry about it, Teddy. You can change your face. Sam, on the other hand…"

Sam rolled his eyes. "I'm still prettier than you are, Weasley."

"Of course you are, Edwards," Victoire said.

"Let's not get into another 'I know I'm the most beautiful' argument, please," Molly said, "It's too early for that."

"Ancient Runes first?" Teddy asked.

Victoire nodded. "You guessed correctly."

"I figured, that's the only time Molly complains about it being too early," Teddy said.

Victoire was about to respond when someone trailed their fingers along her shoulder. She looked up to see Luke Handlesman smirking at her.

"Hey, Victoire, I'm looking forward to tonight," he said, winking suggestively.

"Yeah," Victoire said dryly, "Same."

"Excellent," Luke said.

"If you'd excuse me," Victoire said, "I just realized I forgot my favorite quill."

She climbed over the bench, whacked a chortling Teddy on the back of the head, and left the Great Hall. Molly, Monica, and Alexa followed, the three of them chuckling quietly, only to fall silent when Victoire glared at them.

By the time they made it to their fourth class of the day, which was Transfiguration, Victoire was ready to hex someone.

"This is ridiculous," she said, dropping her books on the table and sitting down, "Why is it only Tuesday?"

"Because," Alexa said, sitting down beside her, "If it were Friday, we wouldn't be focused at all, and your patrol would be over."

"That's exactly why I want it to be Friday," Victoire said, "This is the worst. Every time he sees me he winks and acts all cocky and I would really like it if he'd just leave me alone."

"He's not going to," Monica said, turning around so that she could see them from the table she and Molly sat at, "You're pretty and he wants to date you. You're not getting rid of him all that easily."

"I wish I could," Victoire said.

"We know," Molly said.

"You've been talking about it since Charms," Alexa said.

Victoire flushed. "Right… Sorry about that."

Monica laughed. "I can't say I blame you, I'd probably be complaining just as much if I was going to have to spend two hours wandering the halls of Hogwarts with no one but Luke Handlesman accompanying me."

"Way to make it sound absolutely terrible, Mon," Victoire said.

"Sorry, Vic, but I don't think there's a way to make it sound anything but terrible," Molly said.

"You're probably right," Victoire said, sighing, "Oh well. If I'm not back by a quarter past midnight, send someone to come looking for me. Namely, Teddy."

"Why Teddy?" Alexa asked.

"He has something that would make it rather easy for him to find me," Victoire said.

Molly opened her mouth to ask a question, but promptly shut it when their professor began the class. When the end of the period came, Victoire jumped up, shoved her books into her bag, and raced out of the room as quickly as possible, Molly, Alexa, and Monica on her heels.

"Slow down, Vic," Molly said, catching up to her cousin just outside the doors to the Great Hall.

"Sorry," Victoire said, "I'm just… I don't like having to deal with him. It's going to be awful."

"You'll make it out alive," Monica said, "Honestly. It's just a patrol."

"Almost weekly," Victoire said, "For the rest of the year. I might make it through today, but in six months? Oh boy."

They sat down in their usual seats. Victoire laid her head on her arms, sighing.

"She alive?" she heard.

"Just upset about Handlesman," Molly said.

"Figures."

Victoire lifted her head and glared at Sam. "It's not like you have to worry about it, Edwards."

"And a good thing too," Sam said, "But instead, Teddy and I have to worry about Jade and Ruby. You're not the only one with an annoyingly creepy fan, Vic. Teddy and I have two."

"One for each of you," Alexa said, laughing, "And the two of you have managed just fine. Jade and Ruby watch you from afar. Vic's going to have to walk around with that prat for two hours tonight."

"Unfortunately," Victoire said, "I might strangle him by the end of it. If I do, you lot knew absolutely nothing about it, all right?"

"Yes ma'am," Sam said, saluting her.

Victoire shook her head and sat up. "I might die, so if I do…"

"We'll be sure to let Professor McGonagall know," Alexa said.

"I hate you," Victoire said.

"No you don't," Monica said, laughing.

"Lucky for you," Victoire said.

She felt someone tug on her ponytail and she turned to see Teddy grinning at her.

"Surviving?" he asked, sitting down beside her.

She groaned. "Barely."

"It's going to be fine, Tori," Teddy said, "Honest."

"Why did you let Serenity pair me with that arse?" Victoire asked, "I don't understand. You know how he is."

"I didn't have much say in the patrol pairs," Teddy said, "If I did, do you think I'd have ended up with Brittany?"

"I suppose not," Victoire said, "If I'm insane by the end of the year, blame Serenity, everyone."

"All right," Teddy said, "But really, Tori, you'll be fine. Don't worry so much. Just ignore him the entire time, or use Muffliato on yourself so that you don't have to listen to him. Or use Silencio. Don't let him get to you, it's what he wants."

"He's trying to wear you down so that you'll go out with him," Alexa said, "Don't give him the chance to, and he won't be able to ask."

"He's going to ask anyway," Victoire said.

"Then use Jake as an excuse," Monica said.

"Jake and I aren't dating though," Victoire said.

"Well, you can tell him that Jake asked you out and you already said yes," Molly said.

"I don't want to drag him into this mess," Victoire said, "I just fail to understand why teenage boys have to be such hormonal messes."

"Vic, trust me when I say this," Sam said, "Not even we understand it."

Victoire laughed, and the distressed mood was broken. They spent the rest of lunch talking and laughing, and then the girls went off to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The rest of their classes went by much slower than Victoire would have liked, and by the time ten o'clock rolled around, it was all Molly, Monica, and Alexa could do to get her to leave the common room.

"You'll survive, Vic," Molly said, shoving her blonde cousin towards the portrait hole, "Besides, you've got a mean Bat-Bogey Hex. Just use it if it becomes necessary."

"But Molls, I don't-" Victoire began.

Monica opened the portrait hole. "You'll be fine, Vic."

"Don't let her back in until she's done with rounds," Alexa yelled just as Molly pushed Victoire out of the portrait hole and into the corridor.

The Fat Lady smiled slightly at Victoire. "I'm afraid I'll have to listen to Miss Miller, Victoire. Good luck on your rounds."

"Thanks," Victoire said dryly, "I'm going to need it."

She walked slowly downstairs, muttering to herself and staring at the floor.

"That no good worthless piece of dragon dung, he's going to pay if he tries anything, I can't believe they put him as my patrol part-"

"Alright there, Tori?"

Victoire looked up to see Teddy leaning against the wall by the doors to the Great Hall, grinning broadly at her.

"What are you doing here, Lupin?" Victoire asked.

"Visiting you before you go on patrol, of course," Teddy said.

"Cut the crap, Lupin," Victoire said, "I'm not in the mood."

"Okay, okay," Teddy said, straightening, "I lied."

"Oh really?" Victoire asked.

"I'm not going to make you suffer through a night of Handlesman," Teddy said, "I'm your patrol partner from now on."

"What about Brittany?" Victoire asked, raising her eyebrows.

"She's with Handlesman now," Teddy said, "I figured it would probably be the best pairing, given the circumstances."

"So basically, she annoyed the pants off of you, so you decided to switch yourself with Handlesman so that you could pretend you were doing me a favor, not escaping the patrol that you hate," Victoire said, crossing her arms.

Teddy sighed. "All right, you caught me. Mostly."

"Mostly?" Victoire asked.

"Mostly," Teddy said, "That's all you're getting out of me. Shall we go?"

"Let's," Victoire said.

"Let's go to the dungeons first," Teddy said, "That's usually the most likely place to find people, followed by the Astronomy Tower. Usual procedure is five points per house for first offense, ten for second, and detention for third or beyond. Detention if they argue."

"All right," Victoire said.

They went down the stairs to the dungeons, opening every broom cupboard that they passed. Just past the third classroom on the left, they opened a cupboard to find two seventh-year Ravenclaws.

Teddy sighed. "Farnsworth, Barrett, again? Really? Detention on Friday at eight, Professor Flitwick will be waiting for you both. Go back to your dorm."

The blonde girl and black-haired boy went bolting out of the cupboard and up the stairs. Teddy shook his head.

"They never learn."

"Why do you say that?" Victoire asked, following him down the hall.

"I've caught them on practically every patrol I've ever gone on since fifth year," Teddy said, "They're awful at hiding, it's not even fun to catch them anymore. You'd think they'd have learned by now."

"Apparently not," Victoire said, waving her wand to open the next closet, which held nothing but cleaning supplies, "Although, from my experience, not all Hogwarts students are the smartest human beings on the planet."

"You'd think Ravenclaws would be," Teddy said, shaking his head. "So, how are things?"

"You see me every day, Teddy," Victoire said.

"So?" Teddy said, "It's still a perfectly reasonable question, I think."

Victoire laughed. "Well then. _Things_ are fine."

"How's Jake?" he asked.

She punched him in the arm. "He's fine too."

"We all know I'm your favorite anyways," Teddy said, grinning.

"I won't deny it," Victoire said, smiling at him, "But don't let it go to your head, Mr. Lupin."

"Too late," Teddy said, "It's been going to my head for years, Victoire, darling."

"Don't call me darling," Victoire said, "Or Victoire."

"Alright, Tori," Teddy said, slinging his arm around her shoulders, "I won't."

"Good," Victoire said, "I'd hex you otherwise. I don't like nicknames like that."

"I'll find the perfect one eventually," Teddy said, as they started up the stairs, "There's bound to be a perfect one for you somewhere, Tori."

"It's that one," Victoire said, "Tori. Nice and simple."

"I don't know," Teddy said, "I need another one for you. Oh well, I'll figure something out at some point. It'll come to me and that will be that."

"Let's hope it isn't any time soon," Victoire said, laughing, "Where to now?"

"Well, I like to check the corridors on every floor, but usually these ones are pretty quiet," Teddy said, "I'm not too worried about it, but I don't want to let anyone get the notion that they're capable of sneaking past me, because they aren't."

"You're Head Boy for a reason," Victoire said.

"And when you get Head Girl, they're going to be just as wary of you as they are of me," Teddy said.

"You're hardly responsible all the time," Victoire said, poking her head into an empty classroom, "Remember that prank that you and Sam said you're going to pull?"

Teddy laughed. "Oh, Tori, the plan for that one is in motion already. Besides, everyone needs a bit of fun in their life. Think about how boring yours would be if you didn't have Sam and me to entertain you."

"Completely worry-free?" Victoire asked, "Because that sounds about right."

"You don't have to worry about us," Teddy said, opening a broom cupboard and checking inside, "We're hardly going to get caught. Besides, while she'd never admit it, Professor McGonagall likes a good prank as much as the next person, and so does Neville. He did go to school with Fred and George, remember."

"They were about a million times worse than you and Sam are, if the stories that Uncle George has told me are true," Victoire said.

"He did start teaching you to fly a broom when you were ridiculously young," Teddy said, "That should tell you something."

"Well, I begged him for six months before he gave in," Victoire said, turning the corner to the stairs, "So it wasn't entirely his fault."

"And the truth finally comes out," Teddy said, grinning, "I never pegged you for a rebel, Tori."

"Oh, shut it," Victoire said, smacking his shoulder, "I'd hardly call myself a rebel. Getting Uncle George to teach me to fly and sneaking down to the Hogwarts kitchens weekly hardly constitutes rebel behaviour. Speaking of, I need to visit the house elves, or they're going to get mad at me."

"Doubtful," Teddy said, "They love you. They love me more, but they love you."

Victoire rolled her eyes. "Teddy, you are completely and utterly ridiculous, you know that?"

"I'm proud of it, Tori, I thought you knew that," Teddy said.

"Sometimes I wish I didn't."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Don't 'oh, nothing' me, Victoire Weasley."

"Why not? It's so entertaining."

"Because it's annoying."

"I'm sure you'll survive, Teddy."

"What if I don't think I will?"

"You've got thick skin, my friend, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Somehow I doubt that."

Victoire rolled her eyes. "Teddy, you've got the highest self-esteem out of all of us. I'm not too worried about damaging your image of yourself."

Teddy shrugged. "If you say so. Are you ready for Quidditch tomorrow?"

"We're going to pound Slytherin into dust during that first match," Victoire said, grinning, "They won't stand a chance against us, and if they think they will, they're absolutely mental. The team is really good this year."

"I'll say," Teddy said, "And with you, me, and Lex, we're bound to come up with some even better maneuvers than the ones we already have. I will say that we should probably change things up a bit, because we do get to be a bit predictable after a while, and you never want to be predictable during a Quidditch match. It can be the difference between winning and losing."

"I know," Victoire said, "But I think we'll figure out some new things to do. We always do. And it doesn't necessarily have to be new moves, just new combinations of them. It's not like they can track every single combination we've ever used. The moves are one thing, the order in which they're used is something else entirely."

"I suppose," Teddy said.

"I'm not worried about it," Victoire said, "Well, I am, but not so much that I don't think we'll be able to handle it."

"I have faith in us," Teddy said, "It's not like we're inexperienced."

"Exactly," Victoire said.

They walked down a few corridors before climbing the stairs to the Astronomy Tower. After taking points from two couples, they went back to the dungeons. By the time they were done, it was nearing midnight.

"I'm going to head back to the dormitory," Victoire said, "See you in the morning, Teddy."

"See you," Teddy said, ruffling her hair.

She climbed the stairs, hearing him whistling behind her.

* * *

**A/N:**

**I'm so sorry about the lack of updates over the last couple of weeks!**

**My stupid laptop charger stopped working on me the Thursday before I was meant to update, so I wasn't able to finish this chapter and upload it like I'd hoped to, and then thanks to it being the last week of school and then Christmas, I had no time to finish this chapter until today.**

**So I'm uploading a day early as a minor apology.**

**If I finish Chapter Six within the next couple of days, I'll upload it as well to finish off my apology for missing those two updates, and then it'll be back to the regular Monday postings.**

**But that's enough from me. **

**Until next time, guys x**


	6. Chapter 6

The morning of the first Hogsmeade trip dawned cool and clear, with a wind that blew swiftly through the red and orange leaves of the trees on the grounds. Victoire was the first out of bed in the dormitory, so she showered swiftly, dressed, and dried her hair with a flick of her wand and a whispered charm. As she was finishing putting on her boots, Alexa sat up and yawned.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Just past nine," Victoire said, "I was going to head downstairs for breakfast."

"Give me five minutes and I'll come with you," Alexa said.

Victoire nodded. She sat down on her bed, tapping her fingers against her thigh. Four and a half minutes later, Alexa burst out of the bathroom in clean clothes, pulling her hair into a ponytail.

"Ready," Alexa said, "Monica and Molly will probably be down in twenty minutes, knowing them."

"You're probably right," Victoire said, "Shall we?"

Alexa gestured towards the door, and they started down to the common room. Sam was there with Nick and Chelsea. They were having a quiet, albeit heated, discussion in the corner of the common room. Victoire coughed lightly and they looked up.

"Hey, Vic," Sam said.

"You lot going down to breakfast?" Alexa asked.

"In a bit," Sam said, "Teddy went down already, you should find him down there. He and Liam were going to talk Quidditch strategy, I believe."

"I'm surprised you're not down there," Alexa said, "You never pass up a chance to talk Quidditch."

"They can do without me for a little while," Sam said, "See you two in a bit."

Victoire nodded, grabbing Alexa's arm. "See you, Sam, Nick, Chels."

She pulled Alexa away from the trio and out of the portrait hole.

"What was that for?" Alexa asked, rubbing her arm when Victoire let it go.

"They were clearly talking about something private," Victoire said, "We needed to leave them alone."

"I wonder what it was," Alexa said.

"Merlin knows," Victoire said, shrugging, "I'm not going to worry about it too much. If they want to be ridiculous and secretive, let them. It seems like everyone has been lately, except me and you and Mon."

"Now that I think about it, you're right," Alexa said, "Molly's up to something, and so is Sam. Same with Teddy."

"Well, let's just hope they tell us sooner or later," Victoire said, "In the meantime, I just want to know what that blasted prank those two were planning is. Teddy hasn't said a word. Every time I ask, he just laughs and tells me that it's going to be funny."

"Let's hope he's right," Alexa said.

The Great Hall was nearly empty when they entered, which wasn't particularly uncommon for a Saturday, especially the one before a Hogsmeade visit. Breakfast was always available until a later time, and most people didn't arrive until nine-thirty.

Victoire and Alexa took their usual seats at the table, nodding to Liam and Teddy as they sat down.

"Excited for Hogsmeade, Tori?" Teddy asked.

Victoire nodded. "Very. Uncle George said he'd be at the shop, and I need to stock up on a few things."

Teddy laughed. "I'm sure he'll give you whatever you want."

"I don't know why McGonagall made you Head and Prefect," Alexa said, shaking her head, "All you do is cause trouble."

"It's mostly Teddy's doing," Victoire said, grinning.

"Besides," Liam said, "We all need a laugh every so often, and they're still serious enough."

"I suppose," Alexa said, looking down at her plate.

Victoire rolled her eyes at her best mate and turned to Liam. "I'm glad you're coming with us to Hogsmeade, Liam. It'll be fun."

Liam grinned. "I'm glad you lot invited me. I usually go with Nick anyway, but it'll be good to go with a big group of people for once."

Teddy nodded enthusiastically. "We always have a good time."

"I'm looking forward to seeing George too," Liam said, "Dad wanted to talk to him about something, but I don't know if he has yet."

"Sometimes I forget that those two played together," Victoire said, "Uncle George always used to tell us about how mad Oliver was as a Captain, brilliant Keeper or not."

Liam shrugged. "He took his Quidditch seriously."

"And got a spot on Puddlemere, so I suppose it wasn't a bad idea," Teddy said, "Sam's trying to get a spot on there too, at least for a while. He said he was going to talk to your dad."

"Dad's sending a scout to one of the later matches," Liam said, "He's still got a bit of pull with the current captain, and they're short a Beater next year anyway. Andy should be by to watch a match in March, I'd guess, and then if it's looking good, he'll bring Bradley along to see if he agrees."

"Well, I hope it goes well for Sam," Victoire said, "He's been talking about wanting to play for Puddlemere since I met him."

"He froze the first time he met my dad at the train station," Liam said, snickering, "Couldn't talk for about five minutes, the poor lad. Dad thought it was hilarious."

"He's used to it though, I'd guess," Victoire said, "Being a famous Keeper and all that."

"I can only surmise," Liam said, "He tried to keep me away from all of that as much as he possibly could."

"Harry was the same way when it came to keeping me out of the public eye," Teddy said.

"It didn't help much though," Victoire said, laughing.

"Unfortunately," Teddy said dryly, "I swear, there's at least four girls every time I go to Diagon Alley. It's madness."

Victoire ruffled his hair. "They just think you're _cute_."

"Never use that word in relation to me ever again, understood?" Teddy said.

"Yes sir," Victoire said, laughing.

Sam, Nick, and Chelsea showed up a moment later, each looking particularly disgruntled.

"What's up?" Teddy asked, looking at Sam.

Sam shook his head. "Nothing, I just… I'll tell you later, mate."

Victoire raised her eyes at Chelsea. The older girl shook her head slightly as she sat down across from Alexa.

"Whatever it is, I hope you lot work it out," Alexa said, finding her voice again.

"We will, at some point," Sam said, "Don't worry about it, it's a family matter."

"Whatever you say," Victoire said.

The sound of raised voices and laughter made Teddy and Sam turn their heads swiftly to the doors. They high-fived each other as a group of seventh-year Slytherins came into the Great Hall, their hair dyed in the colors of the three other houses.

At the sight of the transformed Slytherins, the students that were in the Great Hall burst out laughing. At the teachers' table, Victoire could see Professor McGonagall suppress a smile and roll her eyes. With a wave of her wand, the Headmistress restored the natural hair colors of the Slytherins, only to wink at Teddy and Sam as she placed her wand back in her robes.

"You two are terrible," Alexa said, clutching her sides, "I can't believe you did that!"

Victoire snickered. "I can. Not bad for a start of year prank, boys."

"McGonagall sure has developed a sense of humour, hasn't she? If Fred and George had done that, they would've ended up in detention for a month."

"Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure they did do that, during their second year, and it was two months. It would've been three, but McGonagall was awfully impressed by their advanced Transfiguration skills. Little did she know, they had help from Charlie when he popped in to visit a 'sick' George."

Victoire turned around, only to scream and jump up out of her seat to hug the two men standing behind her, ignoring the stares of everyone else in the hall. "Uncle Ron! Uncle Harry!"

The pair laughed, hugging her in turn. Harry ruffled her hair, smiling. "Hi there, Vic." He looked at the rest of the group, his smile widening. "Alexa, Nick, Chelsea, Liam, Sam, Teddy."

Teddy shook his godfather's hand, a broad grin on his face. "What are you two doing here?"

"We were called in for a bit of work," Ron said.

"Did something happen?" Sam asked.

Harry shook his head. "You'll find out, don't worry. We came a bit early, figured we'd spend the day down in Hogsmeade like we used to, seeing as it's a Hogsmeade weekend and all. Visit George, you know."

Victoire sat down again, looking up at her uncle. "How is Aunt Ginny doing?"

"She's well," Harry said, smiling, "She has her hands full with Albus and Lily, but aside from that, she's splendid."

"Aunt Hermione?" Victoire asked, grinning as she looked at her Uncle Ron.

"Great," Ron said, "She and Rosie are having a grand old time, and Albus is over all the time to see Hugo, so there's never a dull moment around our house."

Victoire laughed. "I can imagine."

"How's James doing?" Harry asked, "He writes home practically every day, but he never really says much."

"Dom's been keeping an eye on that lot," Victoire said, shaking her head, "Haven't seen much of her, or the little ones."

"Don't let them hear you call them that," Teddy said.

Victoire rolled her eyes. "I won't, but they can't do much harm if they can't hear me, can they?"

Harry laughed. "Well, we should probably go find them, make sure they're not stirring up too much trouble. They'll make the announcement at dinner tomorrow, but we wanted to stop by and say hello."

Teddy nodded. "Nice seeing you, Harry."

Harry ruffled his godson's hair. "You too, Teddy."

He and Ron waved at the group and went up to the teachers' table, where they began an earnest conversation with Hagrid.

"Well, that was… Odd," Victoire said, eyeing her uncles curiously.

"I'll say," Alexa said.

Harry and Ron left the Great Hall a moment later, after exchanging a brief greeting with Professor McGonagall. Teddy shook his head.

"If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's to never question Harry, regardless of how odd the circumstances might be," he said, "Whatever it is, it's pretty good, considering the fact that he seems happy."

"I suppose," Victoire said.

Monica and Molly arrived just then. Alexa looked at them and laughed.

"You two missed quite the morning," she said, "Slytherins with dyed hair, Harry and Ron…"

"Uncle Harry and Uncle Ron were here and I missed it?" Molly asked.

Victoire nodded. "They said they'll be down in Hogsmeade though, so we might run into them."

"I hope you're right," Molly said, "I miss them."

"I know," Victoire said, "Seems like yesterday that we were seven years old and chasing each other around the Burrow."

"Seems like yesterday that you two were still immature weasels," Teddy said, grinning, "Oh wait…"

"Shut it, Lupin," Victoire said, mock-glaring at him.

Monica laughed. "Ridiculous."

"Your favorite people," Victoire countered.

Monica shrugged. "Don't hold it against me."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Teddy said.

Monica sat down beside Nick, Molly beside Sam.

"Excited for Hogsmeade?" Monica asked, stealing a piece of bacon off of Nick's plate.

He laughed. "Sure am. You?"

"Definitely," she said, grinning at him, "I know Alexa is- OW."

"Sorry," Alexa said, looking up from her plate.

"No you aren't," Monica said, reaching down to rub her shin, "Such lies, Miller."

"It was an accident," Alexa said.

Victoire laughed. "Lexa…"

"Oh, shut it, the lot of you," Alexa said, "I just want to get to Hogsmeade to get some butterbeer, that stuff is the best."

"Actually though," Molly said, "Praise Uncle George for bringing us some every time he came home for a visit when we were younger… I've missed it."

"Well, we're leaving soon, so I'd suggest that you and Monica eat," Teddy said, "Sam and I need to see George before all of the little rascals clean him out."

"Well, you know he always saves you some things," Victoire said, "I'm sure he'll still have something for you, regardless of when we get down there. But I need to see him too, and I heard Honeydukes has new chocolate out. Plus Uncle George has new Quidditch gloves for me, courtesy of Aunt Gabrielle. She dropped them off with Mum, she and Uncle Henry were by for tea two weeks ago, apparently, and Dad dropped the gloves off with Uncle George."

"French Quidditch gloves, you lucky witch," Alexa said, sighing, "I wish I had some new ones, mine are wearing thin on the palms."

"Well, now I know what to get you for your birthday," Victoire said.

"But the season will practically be over at that point," Alexa said.

"Christmas, then," Victoire said.

"That's a bit better," Alexa said.

Once Monica and Molly had eaten, the group of nine stood up and left the Great Hall. They passed Filch, who, though he was old, still managed to glare at every student that left to go to Hogsmeade that day.

As they walked towards the village, Victoire fell into step with Chelsea. The blonde sixth-year smiled.

"Hi, Vic."

"Hey, Chelsea," Victoire said.

"I feel like we haven't talked in forever," Chelsea said.

Victoire gave a half-smile. "That's probably because we haven't."

"How are things with Jake?" Chelsea asked, grinning.

Victoire groaned. "Does everyone have to ask about him all the time? They're fine. How about you, any new boys in your life?"

"Do you know Jack Hector?" Chelsea asked.

Victoire nodded. "He hangs around with Nick and Liam a lot, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," Chelsea said, "He and I have gotten rather close lately. Nick doesn't like it much, or at least, he says he doesn't, but I know he'd rather it was me and not someone else."

"I feel like a lot of boys are like that," Victoire said, "I know that's how Uncle Ron was with Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny. He said he wasn't happy with it, but better Uncle Harry than any of the other boys that wanted to date her."

Chelsea laughed. "Exactly. Anyway, Jack and I have been spending a lot of time around each other lately, we get along quite well and I'd like to think it will go somewhere, but who knows."

"Well, that's good though," Victoire said, "He's nice, from the little I know of him."

"He is," Chelsea said, smiling.

They walked into Hogsmeade, stopping into Honeydukes first to browse through the candy, and each member of the group left the sweet shop with bulging pockets and a good deal less gold to their names. Next was the Hogsmeade branch of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Teddy led the way inside.

George looked up as the door opened. "Ah, the crowd has arrived."

Victoire laughed. "Hi, Uncle George."

"Victoire, Molly," George said, inclining his head and smiling at his nieces before turning to Teddy and Sam, "What can I help you two boys with? Remember, everything is free for you lot."

"Well, George…"

Teddy's voice faded as he followed Sam and George into the back of the shop. Victoire shook her head and turned to Alexa. "Stock up on the usual, I suppose?"

Alexa nodded. They gathered their usual assortment of tricks before joining Nick, Monica, and Liam at the window. Liam and Nick were in the midst of a heated argument.

"Puddlemere is the best," Liam said.

"You're biased though, your dad was on the team," Nick said, "Don't get me wrong, they're a great team and I wouldn't mind playing for them, but they're definitely not the best."

"I prefer the Harpies," Alexa said. She clapped a hand over her mouth, flushing. "Sorry, ignore me."

"No," Liam said, "I actually agree with that statement. Second best team in the league, after Puddlemere."

"You actually like a team of girls?" Alexa said, "Oh, wait. That just made sense."

Liam laughed as Nick, Chelsea, and Monica turned and left. "I like them because they're good players, not because they're attractive girls."

Alexa laughed quietly. "I knew that, I just…"

"Thought 'Oh, Liam's a teenage boy, it must be because they're attractive'?" Liam asked, grinning.

"Well, yes," Alexa said.

Victoire shook her head and left the pair to stand at the window. She was browsing through the Wonder Witch products when she heard an exclamation from behind her. She turned to see Molly standing with Harry and Ron.

"So, we meet again," Victoire said, grinning as she approached her cousin and uncles.

"It would seem so," Ron said, smiling, "Molly was just updating us on a few things. It sounds like you two have been busy."

"Well, it is O.W.L. year, Uncle Ron," Victoire said, "And then I have Quidditch practice and Prefect duties on top of all of the work."

"Ah, fifth year," Harry said, shaking his head, "Ours was…"

"A disaster?" Ron finished, "Practically every year at school was a disaster for us, though, if you think about it."

"First or Third year were probably the best of the lot," Harry said, "Although…"

Ron shook his head. "Mate, we talked about this. Seventeen years, you've got to lay off the guilt. Let's go see if George has anymore Fainting Fancies, I enjoyed it the last time we used them on Aster."

"That prat," Harry said, groaning, "See you two soon."

"Bye, Uncle Harry, Uncle Ron," Molly said.

"Bye," Victoire said.

The pair went into the back. Molly turned to Victoire. "I need to talk to Chelsea, I'll see you."

"All right," Victoire said.

Just after Molly walked away, someone tapped Victoire on the shoulder. She turned and smiled when she saw who it was. "Hey, Jake."

He smiled, ruffling his hair. "Are you busy right now?"

Victoire laughed. "Does it look like I am?"

"Well, not really," Jake said.

Victoire nodded. "Precisely."

"Want to come get a butterbeer with me at the Three Broomsticks?" Jake asked.

Victoire looked around, only to realize that none of her friends were in the shop. "Sounds good, seeing as everyone seems to have abandoned me at this point."

"I can't imagine why," Jake said, looking around the shop as well, "Their loss is my gain, however."

He offered his arm to Victoire, and she laughed and put her hand through his elbow. "Thank you, kind sir."

"You're very welcome, milady," Jake said, bowing slightly and grinning at her.

They walked to the Three Broomsticks and sat down at a table. Victoire smiled when she saw who sat across the room.

"It took her long enough," Victoire said.

"Who?" Jake asked.

Victoire jerked her chin towards a table at the back of the pub. "Lexa."

Jake laughed, looking at Alexa and Liam. "Her crush on him really is the worst-kept secret in Hogwarts."

"I'll say," Victoire said, tapping her fingers on the table.

"A butterbeer for you, then?" Jake asked after a moment's silence.

"You read my mind," Victoire said with a laugh, "That would be absolutely wonderful."

"I'll be right back," Jake said. He turned and hurried up to the bar.

A loud laugh caused Victoire to look towards the door. She cocked her head curiously at the sight of the two people who came through the door. Teddy was clutching the hand of Veronica Ells, a seventh-year Ravenclaw. Veronica was tall and willowy, with long light brown hair and brown eyes. They took a table just beyond Victoire and Jake's, and Teddy pressed a kiss to Veronica's cheek before making his way to the bar to get drinks. Jake came back just then clutching two foaming tankards of butterbeer.

"One for the lady," Jake said, depositing one in front of Victoire.

"Thank you," Victoire said, turning her attention from Teddy to Jake. She sipped her butterbeer. "Delicious as always."

"It's never a let-down, is it?" Jake asked.

"Definitely not," Victoire said.

She sipped at her butterbeer some more, staring off towards Teddy and Veronica, who were laughing as they drank their butterbeer. Jake followed her line of sight and cocked his head.

"Since when did Teddy and Veronica Ells ever have anything to do with one another?"

"Since today, apparently," Victoire said, "It's strange, he never talks about liking anyone. Every time I ask he always turns mysterious and says 'someone', but I never thought it would be her."

"Well, there's no reason why it wouldn't be," Jake said, "Forget about him, it's his choice to make."

Victoire shrugged. "I don't know, he's just my best mate, and I'm curious, but you're right. It's his life."

"You ready for the game?" Jake asked.

"I think so," Victoire said, "But I have another three weeks to fine-tune everything, so if anything's off, I can fix it. Teddy, Lexa, and I have been working really well together lately."

"You three have always done well together, though," Jake said, "I wish I could've made it on the team sooner."

"We had Melissa, it couldn't be helped," Victoire said, grinning, "She was brilliant."

"She's playing for the Harpies now, isn't she?" Jake asked.

Victoire nodded. "They scouted her halfway through the season. She was on the team before she even finished school. She's getting last year's team free tickets to the first match once we're out of school next summer, as a thank-you present for making her look so good for their scout. Although, Lexa's getting a bit of an extra present."

"Which is?" Jake asked.

"Melissa's going to get her into a few practices over the summer," Victoire said, "Same with me, though I'm not really in it for the same reasons that Alexa is. Mel's trying to expose her to the team and get the scouts hooked on her so that they'll sign her before she graduates. She was always the closest to Melissa out of all of us, they had all of these absolutely ridiculous movements organized that always seemed to work even when the rest of us had no idea what was going on. It helps that Aunt Ginny does a bit of freelance coaching though, she'll put in a good word for Lexa."

"That's so incredible," Jake said, "I wish I had relatives that did things like that… Mine are all boring."

Victoire laughed. "It gets a bit dull after a while, honestly. When all of your family members have done something mental, it loses its glamour and just becomes a normal part of life for everyone involved."

"I suppose your family does have a lot more to tell than everyone else's, given how close they are to Harry Potter," Jake said.

"Did someone say my name?"

Victoire looked up to see Harry grinning at her. She laughed. "Hello again, Uncle Harry."

"Someone stopped by for a visit," Harry said.

"Who?" Victoire asked.

"Hey, Vic."

Victoire jumped up and hugged her aunt. "Aunt Ginny!"

Ginny laughed. "It's nice to see you."

"It's nice to see you too," Victoire said, "I wasn't expecting you to be here."

"Well, Albus and Lily are with Hermione, so she told me to pop out here and see how the lot of you are doing," Ginny said, "I figured I'd stop by and check in with you before I head up to the castle and attempt to find my son. Who's your friend?"

"Oh," Victoire said, "Aunt Ginny, Uncle Harry, this is Jake. Jake, this is my aunt and uncle, Harry and Ginny Potter."

"I know who they are," Jake said, his eyes wide, "I think the entire Wizarding world does."

Harry rolled his eyes. "That reaction never seems to go away. It's nice to meet you, Jake."

"You too, sir," Jake said.

"Oh, and George told me to give you these," Ginny said. She pulled a package out of her pocket. "The idiot forgot to give them to you when he saw you earlier today, so here are your gloves."

Victoire took the package, smiling widely. "Thank you so much, Aunt Ginny!"

"It's not a problem, lovely," Ginny said, smiling, "Also, Melissa told me to tell you hello, and that she's going to stop by the game. They don't have practice scheduled for that day and she's reserve anyway, so even if they do have practice, she'll be able to slip out for a bit."

Victoire's mouth dropped. "Really?"

"Really," Ginny said, "Your uncle and I will be there with Albus and Lily too. Don't tell James though, otherwise he won't come to the game."

"He worries that his parents are going to embarrass him," Harry said, chuckling.

"I don't know why," Victoire said, "Well, I can't wait."

"Who replaced Mel on the team?" Ginny asked, "Teddy never said, and neither did Sam."

"Me," Jake said, "I did."

Ginny nodded, looking him over. "How does he compare to Mel, Vic?"

"Well, I don't think anyone is as good as Mel," Victoire said, "No offense, Jake. You'll be able to judge for yourself at the game though."

"I suppose you're right," Ginny said, "Well, we'll let you get back to your butterbeer, and I'll see you in a few weeks. Good luck, if I don't see you before the game."

"Thanks, Aunt Ginny," Victoire said.

Ginny smiled once more before leaving the pub with Harry. Victoire looked at Jake, laughing when she saw the awed expression on his face.

"I just met Harry and Ginny Potter," he said slowly, "Am I dreaming?"

Victoire rolled her eyes. "They're just normal people, Jake."

"One of them saved the whole of the Wizarding world, and the other helped," Jake said, "I'd hardly call that _normal_."

"Well, they are," Victoire said firmly.

Jake sighed. "Whatever you say, Vic. Whatever you say."

They talked for a while longer, and just before Victoire stood up to leave, Jake caught her hand. "Vic, I… Uh…"

"Yes, Jake?" Victoire asked.

"Wouldyoubemygirlfriend?" he asked hurriedly.

Victoire smiled. "Sorry, what?"

"Would you be my, uh, girlfriend?" he asked again, "I mean, would you go out with me?"

Victoire's smile widened. "Sure, Jake. I'd love to."

"Can I walk you back up to the castle, then?" Jake asked, regaining his composure.

"Of course," Victoire said. Jake held his hand out. She took it and he helped her up, but continued to hold her hand.

As they walked past the table that Teddy and Veronica sat at, Victoire paused.

"Teddy?"

The scarlet-haired boy looked up. "Yeah, Vic?"

"I'm going back to the castle, so could you just make sure that no one worries about trying to find me?"

"Sure thing."

"Okay, thanks."

With that, Victoire and Jake left the pub, walking swiftly towards the castle.

"That was odd," Victoire said, biting her lip.

"What?" Jake asked.

"Oh, Teddy's never like that," Victoire said, "He was a bit short with me there."

"Probably because he was on a date," Jake said, shrugging.

"I suppose, but…" Victoire shook her head. "I dunno, it was weird."

At the front doors, Jake stopped. "I'd walk you up to the common room, but I'm meant to be meeting Matt and Kevin…"

Victoire smiled. "That's perfectly alright."

Jake kissed her swiftly, smiled, and left, not giving her a chance to say anything. He turned at the end of the courtyard and waved, and she waved back before starting up to the common room. She entered it to find Molly and Monica seated by the fire.

"You look happy," Molly said.

"What happened?" Monica asked.

"Well, let's just say that Victoire Weasley is no longer available for dates," Victoire said, grinning at them and sitting down.

"Wait, Jake asked you out?" Monica asked.

Victoire nodded. "That he did."

Monica clapped her hands together. "Oh, Vic, that's great."

"You look a little perturbed though," Molly said, "Did something happen?"

Victoire shook her head. "Well, no. Yes. Not really. I don't know."

"Explain," Monica said, leaning forward.

"I saw Teddy in the Three Broomsticks, and he looked like he was on a date with Veronica Ells," Victoire said, "Which wasn't the bad part, it was just… When Jake and I left, I told Teddy and asked him to make sure that everyone knew I went back to the castle so that they weren't waiting around for me when they decided to leave, and he was rather… Short with me."

"Call the Aurors, Teddy Lupin was short with Victoire Weasley," Monica said, grinning.

Molly held up her hand. "No, Vic's right. That's really odd, especially coming from Teddy. Those two haven't had a fight in all of the years that they've known each other. I wonder what's going on with him."

"Well, I just hope I find out soon," Victoire said, "I don't like it when my best mate is put out with me. It's not… Normal."

"He'll tell you at some point," Molly said, "I mean, it's the two of you. It's always the two of you."

"I just hope he doesn't think that will change now that Jake and I are together," Victoire said, sighing, "Teddy's always come first, and he always will."

"Just make sure he knows that, and you'll be fine," Monica said, "But that's great about Jake!"

"Yeah," Victoire said, smiling slightly, "It is."

Alexa and Liam entered the common room a moment later, laughing loudly.

"See you, Lex," Liam said.

"Later, Liam," Alexa said, grinning at him.

He disappeared up the stairs to his dormitory as Alexa approached her friends. She sat down to Victoire's right and smiled. "Hey, guys."

"I see that you've finally gotten over your inability to talk to Liam," Victoire said, laughing.

"Oh, shut up," Alexa said, "Yes, I have. All it took was a good conversation about Quidditch and the ridiculous things that our family members have done while playing it."

"Speaking of Quidditch, guess who's going to be at the match?" Victoire said, smiling.

"Who?" Alexa asked.

"Aunt Ginny, Uncle Harry, Albus, Lily, and Melissa," Victoire said, "Aunt Ginny was at the Three Broomsticks when I was there with Jake and she told me."

"Speaking of Quidditch, guess who Vic's dating now?" Monica said.

Alexa's mouth dropped. "Wait, Vic, really? You and Jake? I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks," Victoire said, "I'm glad you and Liam are finally talking to each other like normal human beings."

"Things are looking up," Molly said, leaning back in her chair.

"That they are," Victoire said.

* * *

**A/N:**

**And here we have the last update of 2012!**

**It is a Teddy/Victoire fanfiction, remember that. Don't hate me too much!**

**Happy New Year, everyone! x**


	7. Chapter 7

"I still can't believe them."

Victoire looked up at Molly. The redhead sat down on the bench across from her, shaking her head.

"What do you mean?" Victoire asked.

"They're teaching us for the next two and a half months," Molly said, "Just... Don't you find it weird that our uncles are the ones teaching us Defense?"

Victoire shrugged. "I mean, it's not like they don't have experience with it, and I can't think of better people to fill in for Professor Valance. I hope everything's okay, she's never missed classes like this before."

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Molly said.

"I hope," Victoire said, "She's one of my favorite professors."

"Mine too, but still," Molly said, "It's the Head of the Auror Office and his right-hand man. I don't think there's anyone more qualified to teach us how to defend ourselves."

"I suppose," Victoire said.

"Morning."

Victoire looked up, only to smile when she saw Jake. He sat down beside her, kissed her cheek, and began to fill his plate.

"Hi Jake," Molly said.

"Hey, Molly," Jake said, before turning to Victoire, "Ready for the game?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Victoire said, "Lexa, Teddy, and I went out on the pitch yesterday to make sure we had everything tightened up, and so far, it looks good. How about you, are you ready?"

Jake nodded enthusiastically. "Can't wait."

"Me either," Victoire said, "I've been waiting for this for ages."

"I'm just looking forward to Monica's commentary," Molly said, grinning, "If it weren't for the fact that my best friends and cousins are on the team, Monica would be the only reason I'd go to Quidditch matches. It's just not as fun when you don't have a personal investment. The Harpies and Puddlemere are fine because I know people who were or are involved with them, but Quidditch here…"

Victoire laughed. "Monica's commentary is always a high point, I must say. I don't know where she got the skills for it, but she's amazing."

"I dunno," Jake said, "My first year, there was this kid, Jared Barnes, he was incredible."

"Uncle George always told me that no one will ever hold a candle to Lee," Molly said, "But he did say that Monica is a close second, and if he's saying that, it's almost definitely true."

"Of course, it is Uncle George," Victoire said, "And you can never take him too seriously, he's liable to be joking with you."

"Your family is so amazing," Jake said, sighing, "Mine's the most boring thing in the world."

"You two better eat fast."

At the sound of Teddy's voice, Victoire looked up. The older boy was standing there, his face solemn and his arms crossed. She sighed. "I ate already, I was just here with Molly."

"We'd best go get ready then," Teddy said, "We need to be down at the pitch and ready to go in a half hour."

Victoire nodded. "See you later, Molly." She kissed Jake swiftly and stood, following Teddy out of the Great Hall. He walked at a speed that she could not match, so she continued to follow him down to the locker rooms at the Quidditch Pitch.

A few hundred yards away from the pitch, she jogged to catch up with him. He slowed slightly, allowing her to walk beside him.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Hmm?"

"I asked if you were alright."

He shrugged. "Fine, yeah."

Victoire stopped and crossed her arms, staring at him. After a few steps, he stopped walking and turned to face her. "What, Victoire?"

Her eyes widened, but she continued to keep her eyes on him. "Ted Remus Lupin, stop lying to me. I know you and I know when you're not alright, so it doesn't do you any good to try to pretend otherwise."

He stood there for a few moments, his eyes locked on hers. Then, his shoulders slumped and he sighed. "No, I'm not alright."

She stepped closer to him. "Well then what is it? I can't help if I don't know what's wrong."

"You can't help," Teddy said, "This isn't something that can be fixed."

"At least tell me what it is, please," Victoire said, "I'm your best mate, Teddy, you know you can trust me."

He looked around swiftly before stepping towards her and stopping directly in front of her. "It just… Hurts."

"What?" Victoire asked.

"It's the first match of my last year of school," Teddy said, "Everyone else has family and friends coming to watch them play, or almost everyone does, and I just… Their parents aren't coming because they have another commitment, or because they don't want to, or they're going to a later match this year. My parents aren't coming because they're _dead._"

Victoire's mouth formed a small "o" as she nodded. "Teddy… I can't say I understand, because I clearly don't, but remember, Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry love you. To them, you're their eldest child. You spent most of your childhood in your own room at their house. They're certainly not the same, but I wouldn't say that you don't have parents. And you do have a family, Teddy, whether you think you do or not."

Teddy opened his mouth to respond, only to shut it when someone called Victoire's name. She turned to see Jake hurrying down the hill towards them.

"Vic!" He paused where they stood. "You coming?"

She cocked her head slightly, looking at him. "We'll be down in a few minutes, go on without me."

Jake watched her for a moment before nodding. "Uh… Alright then."

He continued down the hill. Once he was out of sight, Victoire turned back to Teddy, whose arms were crossed. He was staring at the ground, and she sighed.

"As I was saying," she said, "You do have a family, Teddy, and you know who loves you? Me. I love you, Teddy, and every member of the Weasley-Potter clan loves you too. I know that we can't make up for the family that you lost, Teddy, but we do love you and you shouldn't forget that."

Teddy reached out and tugged Victoire to him, hugging her tightly. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face to his shoulder. For a moment, she thought she felt his lips press against her hair, but the pressure was gone almost as soon as it had begun, and she came to believe that it was just her imagination.

"Love you too, Tori," he murmured, running his fingers through her ponytail.

She stood there a moment longer, reveling in the contact, before pulling back slightly, her arms still locked around his waist. "Now, Mr. Lupin, I believe we have a Quidditch match to win."

He laughed. "I do too."

She removed her arms from his waist, grinning cheekily at him. He grabbed her hand and started running down the hill. She laughed and ran after him. They slid to a stop just inside the open door to the Gryffindor locker room. Jake looked up from where he was pulling his robes and raised his eyebrows. Behind him, Liam was grinning and talking to Alexa, who caught Victoire's eye and smiled widely.

"Having fun?" Jake asked.

Victoire held Teddy's arm to keep herself upright, laughing hysterically. "Most definitely."

Teddy put a hand on her back, grinning and barely stifling his laughter. "Easy, Tori."

"OI!"

Victoire stopped laughing and turned to look at Sam, who was standing there, arms crossed. "Sorry, Cap."

"Won't happen again," Teddy said.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Don't lie, I know you both and it will at some point. Just focus now, please. This match is important."

Victoire saluted him. "Yes sir."

She moved to her locker and began to pull on her robes, grimacing as they messed up her ponytail. As she fixed it, Alexa came to stand beside her. The dark-haired girl was already dressed, broomstick in hand.

"What were you and Teddy laughing about?" Alexa asked, leaning against the wall.

Victoire shrugged. "I don't really know."

Alexa laughed. "Only you two, Vic. Only you two."

"What about you and Liam?" Victoire asked, grinning at Alexa and adjusting her arm guards.

Alexa flushed. "Nothing's going on, I swear. We were just talking, that's all."

"Sure, Lexa. Sure." Victoire grinned and tightened the laces of her robes before pulling on her new gloves, smiling appreciatively at the feeling of the supple leather against her palms. She shouldered her broomstick and grinned at Alexa. "Ready?"

"Always am," Alexa said, a wide smile on her face.

"I certainly hope so."

Victoire turned around to see Dom standing there, her Beater's bat hanging in one hand, her broomstick in the other. Her red-blonde hair was pulled back from her face into a long French braid, and she was eyeing her sister with a speculative expression on her face.

"Well, don't you look professional?" Victoire asked, her smile widening, "I feel like I haven't seen you in ages, Dom."

"That's because someone's been busy with her new boyfriend," Dom said, "Besides, I've been looking after the younguns."

"I haven't spent that much time with Jake, and someone has to do it," Victoire said, shrugging.

"We get on just fine, so it's not a problem," Dom said, "Point is, we're both busy, it's not surprising we haven't seen much of one another."

Victoire opened her mouth to reply, and promptly shut it when Sam clapped his hands. She turned to face him, leaning against one of the lockers.

"Everyone ready?" he asked, looking around at the members of his team.

"Sure are, Captain," Alexa said.

"Let's kick some butt," Dom said, pulling her gloves on.

"Never been more prepared," Liam said.

Sam smiled. "Excellent. Vic, Teddy, Lex, you three are prepared, yes?"

"Always," Victoire said.

"Right," Sam said, "Gryffindor on three. ONE, TWO, THREE-"

"GRYFFINDOR!" the team shouted.

Sam led the way to the door to the pitch. He climbed onto his broomstick, waved his wand, and flew through the open door onto the pitch, Beater bat firmly in hand. Teddy followed, Victoire behind him. They came to a stop in the middle of the pitch. Sam shook hands with the Slytherin captain, a boy named Albert Falgorn, Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and all hell broke loose.

With the Quaffle tucked firmly under his arm, Teddy sped up the pitch towards the Slytherin goalposts. As one of the Chasers flew towards him, he spun to the left and pitched the Quaffle to Victoire, who was flying beneath him. She pulled her broom up and continued towards the Slytherin Keeper, mindful of the three opposing Chasers on her tail. It was with a grin on her face that she sped towards the pitch, pulling out of the dive just in time. There was a satisfying _crunch_ from below, and she continued to the goalposts, unhindered. Just as she was about to throw the Quaffle through the center ring, she tossed it to Alexa, who slammed it through the right ring as the Slytherin Keeper flew towards the center.

"MILLER SCORES AFTER A LOVELY COMBINATION BY LUPIN AND WEASLEY. THOSE TWO ARE SO IN TUNE IT'S LIKE THEY'RE READING ONE ANOTHER'S MINDS. TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR."

Victoire half-smiled at the sound of Monica announcing the match before turning her attention back to the players around her.

"DIVE, VIC."

Victoire did as she was told. She shot towards the pitch and a Bludger went flying above her a moment later, only to slam into one of the Slytherin Beaters who was looking in the other direction. Victoire looked up to see Dom grin and give her a thumbs up. She returned the gesture before looking back at the pitch.

"AND MORETTI HAS THE QUAFFLE… SHE SHOOTS- SMITH BLOCKS IT!"

A cheer came from the Gryffindor section, which included the majority of the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw houses, as the Slytherins booed. Alexa flew past Victoire, the Quaffle tucked under her arm. Victoire took off after her, flying a safe distance away. She pulled her broom up to avoid a Bludger, her eyes locked on the Quaffle. Alexa threw it to Teddy, who continued down the pitch, Victoire on his tail.

"VIC, PATTERN J."

At the sound of Teddy's shout, Victoire began to weave her way through the Slytherin players to hover low on the pitch below the Slytherin Keeper. Teddy flew towards her, Quaffle under his arm, and threw it to her. She flew straight up, ducking behind the Slytherin Keeper and throwing the Quaffle through the center ring. He cursed and glared at Victoire, who smiled and waved her fingers at him.

"WEASLEY SCORES. ANOTHER TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR. LOOK AT THAT CHEEK, EVERYONE, SHE'S DEFINITELY A WEASLEY. I THINK THEY DESERVE THE AWARD FOR CHEEKIEST FAMILY IN THE-"

"MS. BIRCHFIELD, PLEASE."

Victoire shook her head, smiling at the reprimand from Professor McGonagall, before turning her attention back to the match.

The game continued in a similar fashion until about a half an hour later. With a score of ninety-thirty, Gryffindor, Monica's amplified voice rang across the pitch.

"HAS WOOD SEEN THE SNITCH? IT LOOKS LIKE HE HAS! MARCUS PERLAND HAD BETTER START PAYING CLOSER ATTENTION TO HIS OPPOSING SEEKER'S MOVEMENTS, HE'S NOT GOING TO GET HIMSELF ANY OFFERS IF HE KEEPS LOSING FOCUS LIKE THIS."

Though she wanted to watch Liam fly after the Snitch, Victoire continued the combination that she had started, throwing the Quaffle to Alexa at the middle of the pitch. Alexa sped towards the Slytherin goal posts, tossed the Quaffle to Teddy, and cheered as Teddy threw it forcefully through the left ring.

"AND LUPIN SCORES! TEN MORE POINTS TO GRYFF- ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR, LIAM WOOD HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GREAT START TO THE SEASON, LIONS! YOU'RE MY HOUSE FOR A REASON. NEXT GAME, HUFFLEPUFF VERSUS RAVENCLAW, THREE WEEKS."

The entire Gryffindor team flew at the brunette boy, who was holding the Snitch up victoriously. Dom and Sam crashed into him, hugging him swiftly. He laughed as Victoire, Teddy, and Alexa joined the pile. Jake joined in gingerly after a moment, and when everyone pulled away, Liam hugged Alexa one more time. When he pulled away, Victoire nearly laughed at her best friend's red face.

The entire team flew to the locker room, broad grins on their faces. Teddy, Dom, Alexa, and Victoire hurriedly removed their robes and raced out of the locker room and up the hill to the castle. In a room off of the entrance hall, they found their family members waiting patiently, as well as an old friend.

"Vic!"

Victoire found herself being pulled into a hug. She laughed and hugged the older girl.

"Hey, Mel."

Melissa stepped back and smiled. "You look good, kid."

"You too," Victoire said, looking at the old Gryffindor Keeper. Melissa's dark brown hair was thrown into a haphazard ponytail, and her hazel eyes were bright with mirth. She was barely taller than Victoire, but not nearly as intimidating, or so she said, a statement that always caused Victoire to roll her eyes. "The Harpies made a good choice when they decided to let you be the first person on the team without a name that starts with the letter 'G.'"

Melissa laughed. "What can I say? I'm just that good."

Victoire grinned. Before she could respond, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist.

"Victoire!"

Victoire looked down to see Lily clinging to her. She smiled at her younger cousin, tugging her hair gently. "Hi there, Lils. Where's Al?"

"Arguing with James."

A glance upward revealed Ginny smiling widely at her niece. "Great game, Vic, by the way."

"Thanks, Aunt Ginny," Victoire said, "It felt really good. We played so well, I'm so proud of everyone."

"You crushed Slytherin," Melissa said, "I knew you lot would make me proud, though I must say, your new Keeper doesn't hold a candle to me."

Victoire laughed. "I don't think anyone does, Mel."

"MEL!"

Melissa turned, her smile widening at the sight of Alexa. "LEX!"

Victoire stepped back as the two girls hugged each other. She smiled at the sight of Teddy talking enthusiastically with Harry, who glanced to the far corner of the room every so often. Victoire shook her head and approached James and Albus, who were arguing furiously.

"You're not even at school yet!"

"That doesn't mean that I don't know anything!"

"Well, I hardly think that reading a few books qualifies you to-"

"Boys," Victoire said, putting her hands on her hips and eyeing her cousins, "This is family time, don't be prats. James, you haven't seen your brother in almost two months. Be nice to him. The same thing goes for you, Albus."

Albus' face fell at the reprimand. "Sorry, Vic."

She raised her eyebrows, looking at the younger of the pair. "I don't think you should be apologizing to me, Albus."

Albus turned to his brother, sighing. "Sorry, James."

James looked at his feet. Victoire coughed lightly and he sighed. "Sorry, Al."

Victoire smiled and hugged them both. "See, all better. Now, Al, how about you tell me about what you've been doing while the rest of us are off toiling away in this fine establishment?"

As Albus talked animatedly to her, Victoire's mind wandered to the match. After a while, she heard a cough and looked away from Albus to see Melissa standing there, someone behind her, their face obscured. The brunette was chuckling quietly, and Victoire tilted her head, watching Melissa carefully.

"Vic, I don't believe you know Bradley Pierce?"

Victoire's mouth dropped. "You mean, captain of Puddlemere Bradley Pierce? That Bradley Pierce?"

Melissa laughed. "Yes, that Bradley Pierce." She stepped aside to reveal a tall, blonde man, who smiled at Victoire.

"Melissa's told me all about you." His voice was deep and warm. He held out his hand expectantly.

Victoire shook his hand wordlessly, too in shock to say anything.

Melissa grinned. "Bradley's my boyfriend, and I wanted him to meet the best Quidditch team I've ever played with."

"But what about the Harpies?" Victoire asked, finding her voice again, "We don't hold a candle to them talent-wise."

"They're incredible players, but we just don't connect the same way that I did with you lot," Melissa said, "Besides, you girls are welcome to come and fly with us any time you're available, just check with me first. We'd be happy to teach you a few tricks. I don't shut up about you, the rest of the team can't wait to meet you."

Victoire gaped at Melissa, who laughed. "Aren't Puddlemere and the Harpies huge rivals?" Victoire asked, looking between the pair.

"Technically yes," Bradley said, "But tensions have eased a bit, what with Melissa and I."

"I can't believe… Wow," Victoire said, before shaking her head, "Sorry."

Bradley laughed. "Don't worry, I'm used to it."

"I should be," Victoire said, "Given the family and the usual responses when people hear my last name, but somehow…"

"Mel was the same way," Bradley said, "She got over it after one of her teammates drenched us in ice water and she laughed at me for five minutes straight."

Victoire's mouth dropped. "WHAT?"

Melissa laughed. "Gabby's quite the firecracker, and Isaac made a remark that she wasn't particularly pleased with, so she punished the team in the way that she thought was best. Genevieve wasn't too thrilled, or at least, she said she wasn't, but we all knew she was hiding her laughter. She was quite the prankster when she first got onto the Harpies too."

"How did this happen?" Victoire asked, "Give me the whole story, I can't believe this."

Bradley laughed. "Well, we were having a practice match against the Harpies, just for the fun of it, and…"

After Bradley had finished recounting the tale, Victoire felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Teddy grinning at her.

"There's a party up in the common room," he said, "Sam just came down and told me."

Victoire grinned. "Excellent. It was wonderful meeting you, Bradley, and Mel, you'd better write me."

Melissa laughed. "Sure thing, Vic. Enjoy the party, I know I always did."

"Thanks, Mel."

Victoire smiled at her friend one last time. She made her way to the other side of the room.

"Aunt Ginny, Uncle Harry?"

They looked at her. "Yes, Vic?"

"There's a party in the common room, so I'm going to head up there."

Ginny laughed. "Ah, post-Quidditch victory parties… I miss those."

Harry laughed as well. "I'm sure you do. Especially that one from your fifth year…"

"Shut up," Ginny said, flushing, "Well, Vic, have fun. I'll see you at Christmas, I expect."

"Definitely," Victoire said, "I'm not going to miss the annual party, I'd have to be mad."

Harry smiled. "And I'll see you in Defense tomorrow."

"Definitely, Uncle Harry," Victoire said.

She hugged Albus and Lily, the latter of whom clung to Victoire for five minutes before she managed to convince the redhead to let go. Once Lily did, Victoire ruffled her hair and walked back to where Teddy stood.

"Shall we?" he asked.

"Let's," Victoire said, "I can't wait to see what insanity they've cooked up this time."

Teddy laughed. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's great. Sam went on a drinks run, so there's bound to be some good stuff from the Three Broomsticks."

Victoire's face lit up. "Butterbeer!"

Teddy chuckled, taking her hand and leading her out of the room and into the entrance hall.

They walked swiftly up the stairs to the common room. Teddy muttered the password, and the Fat Lady's portrait swung open. They clambered through the portrait hole and into the madness. There was music playing loudly, and a mass of people dancing in the middle of the common room, singing at the top of their lungs.

Victoire made her way through the group of dancing Gryffindors (and a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws) to the refreshments table and got herself a butterbeer, checking to make sure that it hadn't been uncapped. She sipped from it as she leaned against the table and watched the party. Just as she was finishing her drink, Jake found her.

"Care to dance?" he asked, smiling and reaching for her hand.

She grinned. "Sure."

They danced together for close to half an hour, upon which Victoire excused herself to get some water. She tilted her head slightly at the sight of Teddy standing alone at the refreshments table drinking a butterbeer.

"What are you doing here all by yourself?" Victoire asked, getting herself a glass of water and moving to stand beside him.

He shrugged. "No one to dance with. Well, correction, plenty of people to dance with, but they all make me want to strangle them, so I'm just not dancing at all. Better safe than sorry, you know."

"Where's Veronica?" Victoire asked.

Teddy laughed. "Veronica? Why would she be here? She's a Ravenclaw."

"I saw you two in the Three Broomsticks, remember?" Victoire asked.

"Right," Teddy said, "I forgot about that."

"How could you forget about it?" Victoire asked, "You two looked pretty close to me, I thought she was your girlfriend."

"We're not dating," Teddy said, chuckling, "She asked me to help her out. Well, Serenity asked me to help her out, since they're best mates and she apparently couldn't think of anyone better. She knew I was too nice to say no."

Victoire's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"Apparently Derek Fadden has a thing for her, and she really likes him, but he wouldn't ask her out. Every time someone else did, she would refuse, knowing that he got jealous when she was asked out by other boys, but she didn't want to lead anyone on in order to get him to ask her out, so she asked me to help her," Teddy said, shrugging, "So we pretended to go on a date, and he asked her out the next day. Our plan was a success."

Victoire nodded slowly. "I see."

"She's nice, she's just not…" Teddy trailed off.

"The girl for you?" Victoire asked, "I can imagine. You need someone mad and brilliant, my friend."

Teddy gave her a half-smile. "Yeah, I think I found her already, but I don't think she's ever thought of me like that."

Victoire made a face. "Sorry, Teddy." She set her empty glass on the table and grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's stop standing around like sods. Do you still remember how to dance?"

He laughed and let her pull him out into the crowd of people. He spun her and she laughed, grabbing both his hands and smiling at him. They whirled through the mass of dancers, and for a while, she forgot everything except for Teddy and the red and gold of the room around her. The people disappeared, and it was just the two of them. She didn't know how long they danced for, but after a while, Professor Longbottom burst into the common room and tore her out of her reverie.

"Yes, yes, I'm as pleased as you are that Gryffindor won, but it's getting late and the lot of you need to go to bed," he said, "Don't make me take points from my own house, please."

He left the common room, the portrait swinging shut behind him. Teddy sighed and led Victoire out of the crowd of people. He climbed onto one of the chairs and put his wand to his throat. "ALL RIGHT, EVERYONE, GET YOURSELVES TO BED, OR AT LEAST GO TO YOUR DORMITORIES. I DON'T FANCY THIS PARTY TURNING INTO DETENTIONS FOR THE LOT OF US."

With a series of cheers, the partying Gryffindors (and other houses) made their way to the dormitories or out of the portrait hole. Teddy climbed down from the chair and sighed again, looking around the common room.

"I should really head to bed," Victoire said, "See you in the morning."

"See you," Teddy said, tugging on her ponytail.

She made a face at him and went up to her dormitory, only to roll her eyes at the sound of an argument when she walked into the room.

"It's mine!"

"No, it's mine!"

"I found it!"

"But you got the last thing!"

Monica groaned. "Vic, you're a prefect, you have authority, make the two of them shut up. They're giving me a migraine with all of this yelling."

Victoire sighed. "What happened this time?"

"I'm pretty sure they found one of Teddy's sweatshirts. It's that one that you always wear, I think, but I didn't get a good look at it."

Victoire walked to the window, where Jade and Ruby stood pulling a navy blue sweatshirt back and forth. She crossed her arms and coughed. "Ladies."

"It's MINE," Ruby said.

"Give me back Teddy's sweatshirt, I know where you found it and it really wasn't nice of you to take it from my things," Victoire said.

"It's mine!" Jade exclaimed.

"Don't make me take points away," Victoire said, "You're stealing. I don't care if it belongs to Bradley Pierce. It was with my things, so technically you're stealing."

"Well, how did you get it?" Ruby asked, glaring at Victoire, "I doubt he just gave it to you."

Victoire snickered. "As a matter of fact, he did, it was the first of many, and when I tried to give it back, he told me to keep it, and it happens to be my favorite sweatshirt, so I'd really appreciate it if you'd give it back to me. Go steal someone else's sweatshirt, I don't care how many I've nicked from him, that one is my favorite."

"You don't have any right to it," Jade said, "You're not his girlfriend."

"No," Victoire said, smiling, "But I am his best mate, and from what I remember, you don't even fall into the category of people that he's mates with, so you have even less right to it than I do. _Give it back."_

Molly emerged from the bathroom clad in leggings and a baggy sweatshirt. She rolled her eyes. "Ah, the authority figure has arrived. Jade, Ruby, give her back the blasted sweatshirt and shut up, I'd like to get some sleep tonight. Great game today, Vic, by the way. You really nailed that dive, I think that's the best job of it that you've ever done."

"Thanks," Victoire said, grinning at her cousin before turning her attentions back to the pair at the window, "Now, give me my sweatshirt and we can move on from this, all right?"

Jade and Ruby glared at her. She crossed her arms and held their gazes, and after a few minutes, they huffed and handed her back the sweatshirt. She took it and a pair of leggings into the bathroom, changed, brushed her teeth, and went back into the dormitory. Jade and Ruby's glares intensified at the sight of her.

"You have a boyfriend and you're wearing someone else's sweatshirt?" Ruby asked, "Talk about two-timing."

"For your information, Jake hasn't given me one of his sweatshirts," Victoire said, "And also, Teddy's my best mate. There's nothing wrong with this. It's like trading clothes with your best mate, except for the fact that Teddy's a boy and incapable of wearing any of my things that weren't his first."

"Rocky relationship with Jake?" Jade asked, "It doesn't surprise me, I don't know why he ever went for you in the first place. You're hardly good enough for him."

Victoire smiled. "And yet he's dating me and not you. I wonder why that is."

Jade's mouth dropped and she yanked her hangings shut. Victoire laughed and climbed into her bed. Molly snickered.

"Nice, Vic."

"Thanks, Molls."

A moment later, Alexa came through the door, smiling.

"Someone looks happy," Victoire said, "What happened, Lexa?"

"Liam and I went for a walk after we finished with Mel and Bradley," Alexa said, her smile widening, "We're going to Hogsmeade together on the next trip."

"Aww, Lexa, I'm so happy for you," Victoire said.

"Funny how Quidditch brings people together," Monica said, grinning, "That's great though, Lex, seriously, I'm very happy for you."

"I'm happy for me too," Alexa said, spinning around.

She took some clothes into the bathroom, and when she emerged, she was in an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants. Victoire laughed quietly at the sight of her love-struck best friend, who got into bed and pulled the hangings shut. With a wave of her wand, Victoire shut her own hangings, and the lights were extinguished. She fell asleep almost immediately.

"_Talk about the most bizarre end of a year, huh?"_

_She looked up at the boy standing beside her, a wide smile on her face. "I'll say. If someone had asked me if we'd be standing here like this last summer, I'd have laughed in their face."_

"_Well, we're here now, so it really doesn't matter, does it?"_

"_Definitely not."_

_She ran her hands through his messy hair as she stood on her toes to kiss him. He held her to him, his arms wrapped firmly around her waist._

"_I love you, Victoire Weasley," he said._

"_I love you too."_

* * *

**A/N:**_  
_

**I hope you guys like this chapter! Things are going to get interesting in the next one... ;) **


	8. Chapter 8

The next six weeks flew by for Victoire, packed with school, Quidditch, and her friends. Halloween culminated in a night spent on a walk with Jake after the banquet, then in the Head's common room with Teddy, Sam, Molly, Alexa, Monica, Liam, Nick, Chelsea, and Chelsea's best friend, a pretty and quiet girl named Annie. They all ended up falling asleep throughout the Head's dormitory, exhausted after a night of truth or dare and candy and butterbeer consumption. Victoire ended up in Teddy's bed that night, tucked safely in the arms of her best friend, who had refused to let her sleep anywhere but in a bed, while the others piled onto the floor and various couches, doing their best not to disturb Serenity, who was already in her bedroom. That night was a memory that kept Victoire going as the days started to grow shorter, colder, and darker. She'd never admit it to anyone for fear of being accused of being too sappy, but Teddy made her feel safe and secure.

The second-to-last Friday in November, however, Victoire traipsed into the Great Hall for lunch, hand-in-hand with Jake.

"So I was thinking that over the holidays, you could come by for dinner and meet my parents," he said, smiling at her, "What do you think?"

She grinned. "That sounds like a great idea. And you can come by and meet mine. But not on Christmas or New Year's, those are the annual Potter parties."

"What's that?" Jake asked as they sat down at the table. Victoire smiled.

"Well, Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry are the only ones with a house big enough to hold the entire Weasley clan as well as all of the family friends, it's ancient and it's been in Uncle Harry's family for years and years, they have this absolutely massive and beautiful ballroom," Victoire said, "So on Christmas and New Year's, we go there, and Grandmum cooks dinner with the help of Aunt Ginny, Auntie Angelina, and my mum, and we have a huge party with lots of dancing and everything. It's absolutely wonderful, and Teddy and Sam always come up with some fantastic way to end the year. Usually they reserve the important parts for me though."

"Just do me one favor," Jake said.

"Hmm?" Victoire asked, pouring herself some pumpkin juice.

"Don't kiss anyone at midnight on either day," he said, grinning.

Victoire laughed and filled her plate. "I'll try, but I can't make any promises. There's always some drunk cousin running around kissing everyone, I've learned it's almost completely unavoidable."

"Well, as long as you're not actively taking part," he said, squeezing her hand.

"Alright," Victoire said. She looked up and grinned as Alexa and Monica sat down across from them. "Hey girls."

"Hey Vic, Jake," Monica said, "So Vic, that Defense essay that's due next period…"

"Yeah, Uncle Harry is mental," Victoire said, "I had to owl Aunt Hermione and ask her for help, but I think your essay was fine. I'd say I'll talk to him, but I'd be lying if I said he didn't scare me a little bit."

"He's the nicest man ever," Alexa said.

"But he also killed the darkest wizard of all time," Victoire said, "There's a bit of an intimidation factor there, whether he bought me my first broom or not. The man can be downright scary when he wants to be."

Alexa shuddered. "It's easy to forget that when you're around him. He's so… Easygoing. Carefree."

"Well, his mission in life was fulfilled when he was seventeen," Victoire said, "He doesn't have to worry about much anymore, I can't blame him for enjoying himself. And Mon, you'll be fine."

"If you're sure," Monica said, "I just don't want to do badly on it, I need to do well on my O.W.L.s or my mum might never let me leave our house for fun ever again."

Victoire laughed. "Can't say I'm not worried about the same thing."

She felt someone tug on her ponytail and she looked up to see Teddy. She laughed as he sat down beside her. "Hey."

"Hey Tori," he said, stealing a chip off of her plate, "Hey, everyone else."

"Hi," Alexa said, grinning, "You're ridiculous, did you know that?"

"Knew it, proud of it," Teddy said, "So, Vic, ready for patrol tonight?"

"Definitely. I'm just glad it's a Friday," Victoire said, "This way I don't have to scramble to finish all of my work on time."

Jake's shoulders slumped. "Wait, you have to patrol tonight? What about our plans?"

Victoire winced. "Oops, sorry. I forgot about patrol schedule, and I can't really get out of it."

"Sorry mate, looks like I'm stealing your girlfriend for the night," Teddy said, grinning.

"You can steal me anytime," Victoire said, laughing, "We've been over this. Mates for life, remember?"

"I know," Teddy said, "I'm just having a bit of fun."

Victoire rolled her eyes. "You, sir, are completely and utterly mental."

"Well, considering who I spend the majority of my free time around, it had to rub off on me sometime," Teddy said, smiling cheekily at her.

She smacked him. "You are such an arse!"

He rubbed the spot where she'd hit him, grinning. "And yet you love me anyway."

She slung her arm around his shoulders. "That I do. Partners in crime, Mister Lupin."

"Always will be, Miss Weasley," Teddy said, putting his arm around her shoulders as well, "Terrors, we are."

Alexa snickered. "I'll say."

Monica laughed. "I don't think you two know the meaning of the word normal."

"We wouldn't be us if we did," Victoire said.

"Which means that we wouldn't be any fun," Teddy said, "You all know that you'd hate it if we were anything else. We make your miserable lives interesting."

"I wouldn't say our lives are miserable," Monica said, rolling her eyes, "Just… Normal, without you two around."

"Although, I don't know if you could call us normal," Alexa said, "I suppose it should be rephrased as: Our lives would be as normal as it gets for two teenage witches without you two around."

"That sounds a bit more accurate," Victoire said, laughing. At the feeling of Jake's hand on her arm, Victoire turned towards her boyfriend. "Yes, Jake?"

"Maybe, when you've finished eating, we could go for a walk, since we won't be able to spend time together tonight," Jake said.

Victoire winced. "Uh…"

"Vic!"

Victoire looked up to see Molly standing there, arms crossed.

"Yes, Molls?"

"Library?"

Victoire looked up at the clock on the wall. "We probably should start working, you're right." She turned to Jake. "Sorry, Molls and I have to finish a Transfiguration essay. Lexa, Mon, you two coming?"

"Five minutes," Monica said.

"I'll wait with Monica," Alexa said.

"Sounds good," Victoire said, standing. She ruffled Teddy's hair and kissed Jake's cheek. "See you tonight, you madman, and see you… Tomorrow, Jake."

She joined her cousin and they left the Great Hall together, walking slowly towards the library.

"Is everything alright?" Molly asked.

"What do you mean?" Victoire asked.

"Just… You and Jake seem strained," Molly said, "Well, you do, at least."

"Oh," Victoire said, "I… Well…"

Molly grabbed her arm and dragged her into the alcove of a window. "Vic, spill."

Victoire sighed. "I don't know… I just… It feels…"

"Wrong?" Molly asked.

Victoire shrugged. "I don't know. Jake's a perfectly nice boy, he's attentive, he's sweet, he's everything a girl would want in a boyfriend, but…"

"He's not right for you," Molly finished.

"I just feel like we're not going about this in the right way," Victoire said, "Relationships should be about giving and taking equally, compromising, communicating, and while we talk about our families and everything, I don't really feel like I know him all that well, and every time he asks me to do anything with him, something else comes up, be it Prefect duties or Quidditch practice or homework, and I can't abandon those things."

"So what are you going to do?" Molly asked, "It's not fair to him to lead him on like this."

"I don't know," Victoire said, sighing again, "I feel like if we really spent time together, it could really be a good relationship, something serious, but life always seems to get in the way of that. I want it to be something, I just…"

Molly nodded. "I know. And Vic, if I could offer some advice… You'll know it's the right person when you're willing to do whatever it takes to be with them, when everything else pales in comparison to the need to spend time with them. You'll know it's the right person when they touch you and you feel like you're on fire in the best way possible. Yes, you'll still be compromising and having to say no sometimes, but you'll want to make it work, you'll want to be with them, and you won't let something like Prefect duties or Quidditch practice stop you."

Victoire's eyes widened. "When did you get so wise?"

"You learn things in life," Molly said mysteriously.

"I guess," Victoire said, "Well, we'll see how things go, and if things start to fade over the holidays, as they're liable to do, I'll split up with him. If we don't, well…"

"And who's to say there might not be someone more suited to you in your future," Molly said, "You know, someone older, who you spend a lot of time with and know almost better than you know yourself…"

"I'm not dating Teddy!" Victoire said, "And you're one to talk!"

"What do you mean?" Molly asked, her eyes widening.

"Your massive crush on Aaron Atwood last year?" Victoire said.

"As if!" Molly said, "He was helping me with Charms."

"Sure he was," Victoire said, winking at her cousin, "But thanks for helping me with this, Molls. I appreciate it. It's good to know what I'm going to do."

Molly laughed. "At least, you have some better idea of what to do now." She linked arms with her cousin, grinning. "Now, Transfiguration."

They spent the rest of the lunch hour in the library, pouring over their Transfiguration textbooks with Alexa and Monica, before scrambling to Defense.

Harry was sitting on the edge of the desk, twirling his wand in his fingers. Half the class was already in the room, and he grinned when his nieces and their two best friends came rushing into the room.

"Easy, girls," Harry said, "You're not late."

"Yet," Victoire said, sitting down with Alexa.

He laughed. "I was late to class more times than I can count during my Hogwarts career. Don't worry about it too much."

"Yeah, but you're also Harry Potter," Molly said, sitting down with Monica at the table behind Victoire and Alexa's, "They couldn't have been too mean."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I got plenty of detentions during my time here. It's hardly abnormal. Even your Aunt Hermione had one or two, though I will say they were mostly my fault."

"Or Uncle Ron's," Molly said, snickering.

"Or Ron's, yes," Harry said, "But I was usually the magnet for trouble, and everyone knew it. That's why I had to learn so much for Defense."

"And because of you, every Weasley over the age of thirteen can produce a corporeal Patronus, as well as a Lupin and three Edwards'," Victoire said, "Not that there's that many of us at this point, but one day that will actually seem really impressive."

Harry chuckled. "Vic, I don't think there's every been a time when there weren't many Weasleys in any age group, but I get your point."

He started class soon after, and Victoire listened intently, noting down everything he said and carefully practicing the wrist movements under her desk. Harry caught her eye a few times and winked at her, well aware of the habits she'd picked up from days spent under the tutelage of Hermione. If there was one thing Victoire Weasley knew how to do, it was how to be an attentive and thoughtful student.

When dinner rolled around, Victoire nipped down to the kitchens and spent the hour in the common room, books and papers spread around her. Alexa joined her about halfway through the meal.

"You look happy," Victoire said, looking at her best friend.

Alexa grinned. "I just… Liam's great, that's all."

"What happened, Lexa?" Victoire asked, "Spill it."

"Nothing really," Alexa said, "We ate together and everything, and he walked me up here before he went off to meet his friends, and he may or may not have asked permission to kiss me before I came inside."

"And did you let him?" Victoire asked.

Alexa's smile widened. "Of course I did. I've been waiting for this moment for months."

"I'm really happy for you," Victoire said, smiling, "Liam's a really nice person, he's good for you, and it makes me happy to see you this happy. Although, I should probably warn him that if he hurts you, regardless of the fact that our families are friends, I will maim him. Fair warning to the both of you, actually."

"I don't think you'll need to worry about that," Alexa said, "After the last Hogsmeade visit, he gave me permission to slap him if he ever did anything stupid, so it's safe to say I'd be the one doing the maiming if he did anything wrong. I don't think he will though, he's so sweet. He always asks permission before he does anything, and we have such a good time together, I'm going to miss him over the summer."

"Invite him by for Quidditch then. Do you two actually talk, or do you just make eyes at each other all the time?" Victoire asked, chuckling.

Alexa chucked a pillow at her. "We spend most of our time together talking, for your information. I've learned so much about Quidditch techniques, and his family, and him. He wants to be an Auror, after he plays professionally for a while, and then he wants to retire and open his own Irish pub where people can come and listen to the matches after work."

"That's actually really cute," Victoire said, "I know his mum is a brilliant cook, I wonder if he picked up anything from her. I know I'd eat there if he did. Anyway, the Woods' always come to the Christmas and New Year's parties, so you'll see plenty of him over the holidays."

"I know, I can't wait," Alexa said, "It'll be wonderful to spend some time with him outside of school. What about you and Jake?"

"If all goes well, we'll be meeting each other's parents'," Victoire said, "I think."

"That's a big step," Alexa said, "Do you think you're ready?"

"Honestly?" Victoire asked, "I don't know."

Alexa nodded knowingly before pulling out a piece of parchment from her bag. "So, that Charms assignment…"

Victoire exhaled, grateful for the change in subject, before beginning to help her best friend.

She met up with Teddy just before nine o'clock, after being informed that their patrol should be one hour earlier than it had been at the start of the term. When she made it to the bottom of the stairs, it was to see him leaning up against the wall outside of the Great Hall, just as he had before their first patrol.

"Ready, best mate of mine?" Teddy asked, looking at her and smiling.

"Always am," Victoire said, grinning at him.

They started off through the corridors, peering into broom cupboards and classrooms.

"Sorry about stealing you away from Jake," Teddy said after a while.

Victoire shrugged. "It was my fault, really. I should have remembered that patrol isn't something that everyone does."

"What do you mean by that?" Teddy asked.

"Well," Victoire said, "I actually have fun on patrol most of the time, and it's time with you, so I don't tend to associate it with plans. It's just something that we do, you know? So it slips my mind a lot because I tend to think 'Oh, I'm spending time with Teddy,' not 'I have to patrol!' And we were never people to plan our time together, we've just always been… Joined at the hip, I guess, so it doesn't cross my mind that it might be considered plans."

Teddy grinned. "That makes me feel very special, Tori, that I'm such a big part of your life that you don't consider me plans."

Victoire laughed. "Good."

They walked in a companionable silence for a while, until Teddy spoke again.

"So how are things going with you and Jake then?" Teddy asked, "If you keep forgetting about things like patrol, and it's interrupting your time with him…"

She shrugged. "I don't know, honestly."

"Trouble in paradise?" Teddy asked.

"It's… Complicated," Victoire said, "We're… Well, I wouldn't expect you to care all that much."

"Tori, you're my best mate," Teddy said, "If you're involved, I care."

She smiled. "Thanks, Teddy."

"Anytime, kid," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, "Now, what happened?"

"I don't know," she said, "I talked to Molly about it earlier, it's just… We don't really know anything about each other, anything _real_. Sure, he knows my favorite color-"

"Turquoise," Teddy interjected, grinning at her.

She rolled her eyes and continued talking. "He knows my favorite color, but he doesn't really know why I hate brussel sprouts or that I'm allergic to squirrels."

"I'm still sorry about that prank, and I still stand by my statement that you have the weirdest allergy of anyone I've ever met," Teddy said.

"The point is," Victoire said, after sticking her tongue out at him, "We don't really know each other. He's a silly teenage relationship, and I know that's all he's going to be, but I can't bring myself to split up with him either. I do like him, I enjoy the time that we spend together, he's just not…"

"Enough?" Teddy asked.

"I suppose that would be the right word, yes," Victoire said, "Maybe if we had been friends first, if we had gotten to really know each other before we started a relationship, maybe then it would be different, but… We weren't, and it's not, and I don't see that changing any time soon. I don't feel anything out of the ordinary when I'm with him. Everyone in the family has always described love as being, for lack of a better word, magical, and when I'm with him, it's anything but."

Teddy nodded. "He's practice for you, like Gwen Kellam was for me last year. You need it, so that you do it right when it really matters. He's the one for the pointless screw-ups and lack of judgment."

"Does Gwen Kellam know you think of her as practice?" Victoire asked, grinning.

"She's happily dating Ian Marone, and he's completely enamored of her, so I doubt she cares," Teddy said, shrugging, "The last time I talked to her, she said that she was really happy and glad that we could remain friends."

"Good," Victoire said, "It never seemed right, you dating her. You weren't… Yourself. You're much better like this."

"What, single and lonely?" Teddy asked, winking at her.

Victoire wrapped her arms around his waist. "You're single because you choose to be, and I doubt you're lonely. You have me, remember? And besides, I meant that you weren't around us like you used to be, and when you were, she was always there too, and it got to be really unnerving, because I know my best mate, and you weren't him."

He grinned. "I couldn't be alone with you around, and, well, it's true. I'm much too attractive to be single without choosing it."

"I would love to see what reactions girls would have to you if you couldn't change your body around," Victoire said, "They'd definitely be different."

Teddy laughed. "Tori, I don't know if it's humanly possible to find me unattractive."

"Well, I don't find you particularly appealing," Victoire said. He smirked and reached for her waist, tickling her swiftly. She squealed and ducked away from him. "Alright, alright, you're extraordinarily handsome! Happy?"

"Very," he said, his smile widening, "Yours is the only opinion I care about, lovely."

"And you're a total sap," Victoire said, elbowing him lightly, "And that is such a lie."

"Alright, I care about the opinions of you and Sam," Teddy said, chuckling, "Everyone else can go jump into the lake."

"You care about Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny's opinions of you, and the rest of the family," Victoire said.

"Well, alright," Teddy said, "You caught me, you're right."

"I knew it," Victoire said, smiling.

He rolled his eyes. "Sure you did."

They started up the steps to the Astronomy Tower, hands joined. A brief circuit around the tower revealed that there was no one up there, but at the sound of a giggle from the stairs, Victoire pulled Teddy into the space between a pillar and the wall, wincing.

"Why are we hiding?" Teddy asked, his voice a hushed whisper.

Victoire flushed. "They're… Well… That's Tina Allens and Peter Davies. They're… It would just be…"

Teddy smiled. "I understand, Tori. I happened upon them my first year as a prefect… I think I'm scarred for life."

"They're honestly the worst couple to ever come through the halls of Hogwarts, at least as far as PDA goes," Victoire said.

"Well, aside from the stories Ginny's told me about Ron and… Lavender Brown, was it, his sixth year?" Teddy said, "I'd say they're up there too."

Victoire nodded again, only to blush as she realized her close proximity to Teddy. The Metamorphmagus looked down at her, his grey eyes wide.

"What is it, Tori?" he asked, "You never blush like that."

"Your eyes look better when they're your normal color," Victoire said, her voice soft.

Teddy scrunched up his nose and his eyes changed from the grey that they had been since the summer to a brown speckled with gold and green. "Better?"

She smiled. "Much."

The sounds of snogging reached them and Teddy made a face.

"They making you uncomfortable?" Victoire asked.

"I don't like hearing other people snog," Teddy said, "It's unpleasant."

"But you don't mind snogging when you're the one doing it," Victoire said, tilting her head as she looked at him.

"Well, of course not," Teddy said, "Although I must say, while she definitely was not the best kisser in the world, the one thing that I will give Gwen is that she always had her hands in my hair, and _Merlin_, it felt nice, and no one I've snogged since then has done that. It's quite unfortunate really."

Victoire chuckled quietly before reaching up to run her fingers through the scarlet locks. "Like this?"

"You're much better at it than she ever was," Teddy murmured.

"Teddy?" she asked, her fingers knotted in his hair.

His hands went to her waist and his eyes met hers, hazel and blue locked on one another. "Yes, Tori?"

She bit her lip. "Why did you stop with the turquoise hair?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, just felt like a change this summer is all. Why, did you like my hair when it was turquoise?"

"I loved it, actually," she said, "My favorite color and all of that."

He scrunched up his nose, and a moment later, she looked up to see that his hair was her favorite shade of turquoise. She smiled appreciatively.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"I love it, Mister Lupin," she said, blinking slowly, "It's very… You. And, seeing as it's my absolute favorite color, it makes me feel like there's a giant label on you that says 'Property of Victoire Weasley, do not touch on pain of death.'"

"So I belong to you?" he asked, his voice rough.

"I guess you could say that," Victoire said, her eyes locked on his. She could feel her cheeks burning as she looked at him, and it was all she could do to prevent herself from looking down as he leaned towards her.

"If that's true, then I should be able to do this, shouldn't I?"

Before she could say another word to ask him what he meant, his mouth was on hers, and it was like nothing she'd ever felt before.

Rather than pull away, she wrapped one arm securely around his neck, pulling herself closer to him, her other hand still knotted in his hair. He held her to him, one hand sliding up under her untucked shirt to rest on her waist, warm against her cool skin, the other running through her hair, over and over again. She leaned into him, enjoying the feeling of her body pressed against his. When he finally pulled away, leaving her breathless and very disheveled, she became aware of where she was and who she had just snogged. She froze, staring at him.

Teddy released her and ran his hand through his hair, suddenly looking very embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Tori, I didn't mean to- I just-"

She held up her hand to stop him, biting her lip. "That can't- We can't- That can't happen again, Teddy. You're my best mate, and I'm dating Jake, and- We can't."

"I know," he murmured, running one hand up and down the length of her spine. She nearly shivered at the contact as he continued to speak. "I just wanted to know what it would be like. I've been wondering for ages, actually."

"I'm not… This won't ruin our friendship, will it?" Victoire asked quietly.

Teddy smiled slightly. "Of course not, Tori, you're my best mate, and I'm not to let a kiss change that, since it was my fault anyway."

"Good," Victoire said, "Otherwise we'd have a bit of a problem, since I don't plan on letting you go anywhere any time soon."

He laughed softly. "I wasn't planning on going anywhere, so I don't think that you need to worry about it."

Victoire nodded, looking down at her feet. She straightened her shirt and put her hair into a neat ponytail before looking up at him, a broad grin on her face. He blinked warily. Her smile widened. "Well, Mister Lupin, though I must say that we can't do that again, at least, not while we're- well, while I'm- in the current situation that I am with other people, I will say that you are extraordinarily good at snogging and I think you just won the award for the best kiss that I've ever received."

He grinned at her, tugging on her ponytail. "Best mate, best kisser… What else am I the best at?"

She took the hand he offered her, chuckling quietly. "Best at being the world's biggest prat."

He rolled his eyes, lacing his fingers through hers. "Best at being brilliant, more like. And for the record, Tori, you win the award for best kisser at Hogwarts."

She smiled, stood on her toes, and kissed his cheek. "Shame you'll have to miss out on more kisses then, huh?"

"We'll see how long you last, Weasley," he teased, tugging her out from behind the pillar.

"Longer than you will, Lupin," she responded, smirking, "In all seriousness though, if you mention this to anybody, I will maim you."

"I'll just tease you when we're alone," Teddy said, grinning at her.

"That's what I figured," Victoire said dryly.

They left the Astronomy Tower hand-in-hand. Needless to say, Tina Allens and Peter Davies escaped detention that night.


	9. Chapter 9

Teddy held true to his word.

Mostly.

Not only did he not mention the kiss to any of their friends, he never brought it up with Victoire either. They lapsed back into their friendship with an ease that would have seemed impossible to anyone who didn't know them well, and the incident was soon forgotten.

Victoire woke up on Saturday, December fifth, with a broad grin on her face. She looked at Alexa, who was quietly putting on her slippers, and Molly, who had pulled a jumper on over her pajamas. Victoire reached under her bed and pulled out a carefully wrapped package. She set it on her bed and quietly climbed out from under the covers. Together with Alexa and Molly, she approached Monica's bed. Molly put her finger to her lips and held up three fingers. When she put the final one down, they all grinned.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONICA!"

The fourth member of their company blinked and sat up, looking around and smiling. "Thanks, you weirdos."

"Now, your sixteenth birthday is very important," Victoire said, "It means you only have another year until you're of age, and until you can torture us for eight months because you'll be of age and the rest of us won't."

"Of course, you still can't do magic outside of school," Molly said.

"And you still can't Apparate," Alexa said.

"But you're a year closer!" Victoire finished.

Monica laughed. "I'll enjoy abusing my power when the time comes. Thanks though, you lot, this is really sweet of you."

"Don't thank us yet," Alexa said.

"PRESENTS!" Molly cried.

Monica laughed as they all threw their boxes at her. She opened them in turn, smiling at the gifts.

"Victoire, this shirt is… Wow."

Victoire grinned. "Well, I know how much you like Muggle television, so I got Aunt Hermione to find one when she was at the Muggle clothing store a few weeks ago."

Monica smiled. "And Lex, this bracelet is so pretty! And Molls, this will be perfect when I'm announcing Quidditch games and it's cold out. I've been needing a new scarf for the past while, I just never got around to buying one. Thank you all, really. Everything is so nice."

Victoire's smile widened. "Well then, we need to get dressed and head to breakfast. I'm sure that there will be a few more presents for you."

Monica laughed. They all got dressed and went downstairs. The common room was half-empty, but everyone who was there said happy birthday to Monica as they passed. By the time they made it down to the Great Hall, Monica was glowing.

"They all remembered!"

"It may help that we ran around last night telling people that if they didn't wish you happy birthday today, we'd hurt them," Molly said.

"But then again, maybe not," Alexa said, shrugging.

Victoire laughed. "I don't think they're the only ones who remembered."

Sure enough, when they entered the Great Hall, there was a banner hanging on the wall behind the teachers' table that read "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR FAVORITE AMERICAN." Underneath, in smaller print, it read "Our favorite American is Monica Birchfield, for those who are ridiculously uninformed."

Monica grinned as she made her way to the end of the Gryffindor table. Sam and Teddy threw confetti at her as soon as she sat down.

"Thanks, guys," she said, "I appreciate it."

"Anytime," Teddy said.

"We had a good deal of fun with it, and McGonagall doesn't seem to mind, so that's one successful decoration of the Great Hall," Sam said.

"It only took you six and a half years," Victoire said, rolling her eyes.

Teddy shrugged. "We do what we can."

"So Monica," Sam said, "How do you feel? More accomplished? Better than everyone? Happier?"

She laughed. "I feel like me, as per usual."

"I'd certainly hope so," Teddy said, "It'd be a shame if you woke up on your birthday as an entirely different person. Unless of course you were a pathetic idiot. Then it might not be so bad to wake up as someone different."

"Maybe you should wake up as something different then," Victoire said, grinning at him.

"I'm the best though, remember?" Teddy asked, smirking at her, "At a lot of things, actually."

She flushed, looking down at her plate. "Right."

Alexa looked between them curiously. "I'm missing something here."

"We all are," Molly said, "Just accept it. It's the two of them. It's probably some stupid joke or something."

"Yeah," Victoire said, "That's… All it is. A stupid joke."

"Of course," Teddy said, "Well, it would be stupid to all of you."

"So we won't bother you with the details," Victoire said.

"Oookay then," Monica said, "Anyway, I must say that I agree with Teddy. It'd be quite unfortunate if I were to become a different person, since I've worked hard to become this perfect and I'd hate to spoil that for myself."

Alexa snickered. "Don't flatter yourself too much, Mon."

"I'll try," Monica said, "It's kind of hard though."

Molly rolled her eyes. "Ridiculous."

"As always," Monica said.

When they finished eating, the entire group left the Great Hall and headed for the common room. Victoire grabbed Teddy and pulled him into a window alcove, checking to make sure that they wouldn't be overheard.

"You idiot!" she said.

"Sorry," he said, "I couldn't resist."

"What happened to you understanding that if you mentioned it I would kill you?" she asked, crossing her arms and staring at him.

"I didn't mean to, I just-"

"Saw an opening for a joke and took it?"

"Well, yes."

"I can't believe you."

"Tori, I'm sorry. I didn't think. I was stupid."

"You really were, and I'm not happy with you right now."

"I didn't mean to… This is… Alright. I swear to you that I will never mention it again and if I do, you're free to kill me, okay?"

Victoire bit her lip, looking at the floor. Eventually she sighed. "Okay, fine, but I swear, if you ever mention it again, even if it's like that, I will murder you. Best mate or not."

"Heard and understood," he said, "Now come on, I don't want them to wonder where we went."

They caught up to the group on the stairs. Alexa raised her eyebrows. "Where were you two?"

"We had to talk about something," Victoire said, shrugging, "Don't worry about it, it's not important."

Alexa nodded slowly. "Okay."

Victoire exhaled in relief as they continued up the stairs to the common room. Ahead of her, Teddy and Sam were quietly arguing about something. She attempted to overhear, but they were too quiet and she was too far away, so she entered the common room full of curiosity.

Jake was there with his two best friends, boys named Matt Fields and Kevin Ginsworth. He stood as Victoire entered the common room, making his way over to her. She stood as he kissed her and then turned to Monica.

"Happy birthday."

Monica smiled slightly. "Thanks, Jake."

He turned back to Victoire. "I miss you, I feel like we never see each other anymore."

Victoire sighed. "I know, it's just… Prefect duties and Quidditch practice and homework and my friends."

"Shouldn't they want you to spend time with someone who makes you happy?" Jake asked, drawing her away from the group.

"Well, yes, but they make me happy too," Victoire said, "And they need me just as much as, if not more than, you do."

"I guess," Jake said, leading her to where his friends sat, "Vic, you know Matt and Kevin?"

"We're acquaintances," Victoire said, shaking the hands of the other two boys, "The boys in your year that I know really well are Liam and Nick, and Jack slightly, since they're best mates, but I just never really talked to your half of the year until we started dating."

"Pity," Kevin said, grinning at her. He was slim and redheaded, with freckles dusted across his nose.

"Has anyone ever told you that you could be a Weasley?" Victoire asked, smiling. She could tell that she was going to like this boy.

He chuckled. "More times than I can count. A lot of the time they think I'm your cousin until I correct them and tell them that we aren't related in the slightest. Say, Vic, is your friend Monica single, or…"

Victoire's smile widened. "Technically yes, but don't hold on to too much hope. She's got her sights set on someone and he seems to like her, so I can't promise anything. The only one of us who's single at this point is probably Molly, unless there's something she's not telling us."

"So Alexa and Wood are definitely together then?" Matt asked.

Victoire nodded. "They have been since last week, actually."

"Bully for you, mate," Kevin said, slapping his friend on the back.

"There's perfectly good girls in your year," Victoire said, "Why not try for them?"

"Well, Chelsea's got Jack," Kevin said, "And Annie's been dating Kyle Southerd for the last forever. When did they get together, Matt?"

"Our fourth year, I think," Matt said, "So they're not splitting any time soon."

"Leticia will sleep with anything that moves," Kevin said, "And neither of us are particularly interested in that, for reasons that you might be able to imagine. Rose and Kristine are nice, but Kristine's older brother will kill anyone who touches her, and Rose's boyfriend graduated last year, but they're still really serious, so she's out. Sonya's pretty, and she's smart, but she spends most of her time on her work and she's made it pretty clear that she's not interested in dating anyone right now."

Victoire nodded. "I see. Well, sorry boys, you're out of luck, unless you want to try another house or Ruby or Jade."

Kevin shuddered. "No thank you."

"They won't look at us twice anyways," Matt said, "They're all hung up on Teddy and Sam."

"Can't say I blame them," Victoire said, grinning. She patted Jake on the shoulder and kissed him quickly. "No offense to you, Jake, you're pretty great yourself, but I can see why they like those two, even if they both drive me mad most of the time. They're tall, they're handsome, they're smart, they're athletic, and they're older. Any other boy in their year that had the same combination of attributes would attract just as much attention from those girls, there just isn't anyone."

"Jade was alright once," Jake said, "In our second year, when you lot were firsties. I remember her from the Sorting. She just got in with the wrong bunch, I think."

"We would've welcomed her with open arms at any time," Victoire said, shrugging, "Until she turned into a class-A problem causer. She and Ruby tried to steal one of my sweatshirts the other day."

"Let me guess, it belonged to Lupin," Jake said dryly.

Victoire rolled her eyes. "Yes, it did, I've had it since I was in third year, so don't worry about it."

"Tori!"

Victoire turned at the sound of Teddy's voice. "Yeah, Teddy?"

"We're going to my common room to play some Exploding Snap, are you coming?" he asked.

"Please, Vic," Monica said, "It is my birthday after all."

Victoire turned back to the boys. "Sorry, I should really go. Like Monica said, it's her birthday, and she's one of my best mates."

"Have fun," Matt said, smiling.

"We'll survive without you," Kevin said, "Barely."

Victoire laughed and turned to Jake. "Is that alright with you?"

He nodded slowly. "Sure. Yeah."

She kissed him gently and waved goodbye before walking over to join her friends.

Teddy grinned at her. "I see you've finally decided to join us."

Victoire flushed. "Sorry, everyone. Especially you, Mon."

Monica shrugged. "It happens."

"I thought we were playing Exploding Snap in the Head's common room?" Victoire asked.

"We are," Sam said.

"Someone just has to get up first," Monica said.

Victoire rolled her eyes and pulled Teddy to his feet. "Okay, let's go."

"Not fair," Teddy said.

"Sorry," Victoire said.

"No you're not," he said, reaching out and tickling her sides.

She started to laugh, trying to pull his hands away. "Teddy, stop it!"

"It's punishment," he said, pulling her towards him.

"Teddy!"

He chuckled as she tried to bat his hands away. "You can't get rid of me that easily, Victoire Weasley."

"Unfortunately," she said, grinning at him.

"You don't want me to go away," he said, "You'd miss me too much."

"True, true," Victoire said.

The rest of the group got up. They left the common room. On the way to the Head's common room, they passed Liam and Nick. Monica grabbed them and pulled them along with the group, and the morning was spent playing Exploding Snap, laughing, and teasing one another. Victoire was decidedly reserved, trying to puzzle through what had just happened in the common room. On the way down to lunch, Alexa dragged Victoire away from the group.

"You're not acting like yourself, Vic," Alexa said, pulling her into an empty classroom and crossing her arms, "What is it?"

Victoire pulled the door shut and took a deep breath. "Alexa Marie Miller, what I am about to tell you is a secret and you can't breathe a word of it to anyone, understand?"

Alexa raised her eyebrows and nodded. "Okay."

"You have to swear on our friendship, this is really important."

"I solemnly swear on our five year long friendship that I won't say anything to anyone about what you're about to tell me," Alexa said.

"Alright," Victoire said, exhaling loudly. "Teddy kissed me."

Alexa's mouth dropped. "WHAT?"

"Two weeks ago, about," Victoire said, "On our Friday patrol, that night that I had to ditch Jake for it. We were checking the Astronomy Tower, and…"

"And you're telling me this now?" Alexa asked, "Why?"

Victoire tugged on her ponytail in exasperation. "Because I liked it!" Alexa raised her eyebrows as Victoire's voice fell. "I liked it, and I have a boyfriend, and I like him, but it doesn't feel right, and when I'm with Teddy, it's like…"

"He's what your boyfriend should be?" Alexa asked, "I know what you mean. We all see it, we've just been wondering how long it would take you to realize, Vic."

"What do you mean?" Victoire asked.

"You two are always touching each other," Alexa said, "You don't think about it, but you always have your arms around each other, or you're using him as a backrest, or he has his head in your lap while you're both doing homework, or so many other things, and it's like the most natural thing in the world for the two of you. And then there's all the jokes and the fact that you two can communicate with each other without doing anything more than exchanging a glance. He knows you, Vic, and you know him, and you two gravitate around each other without even realizing it. In all honesty, this really doesn't surprise me. Is that what the 'stupid joke' was at breakfast?"

Victoire nodded slowly. "Yeah, it was. I just… Lexa, I really like Jake. A lot. He's sweet and he tries really hard and I know that he's jealous of Teddy but he does his best to hide it, but he's just…"

"Not Teddy," Alexa finished.

"Exactly," Victoire said, sighing, "I don't know what to do, Lexa. I like Jake, and I feel bad for dating him when I don't really know who I have feelings for, but I can't really break up with him to date Teddy without even knowing if he actually likes me."

"I know," Alexa said, "It's quite the puzzle, isn't it?"

"I'll say," Victoire said, leaning against a desk, "I just… I see you with Liam, and you two are so in tune to one another that it's ridiculous, especially considering that you've only been official for a week, and I want that, and when I'm with Jake I feel like maybe we could have that one day, but afterwards, when I'm not with him anymore? I wonder why I'm doing this. And then I spend time with Teddy and he's wonderful and I just want it to be like that all the time. I don't want to have to abandon spending time with him every night to go be with Jake, I'd rather be going on walks around the lake with Teddy, or going to visit Hagrid, or… I just don't want to do this anymore, Lexa. I want to be happy."

"Do you know what you have to do?" Alexa asked.

"What?" Victoire asked.

"Well, really, you have two options," Alexa said, "Break up with Jake. Now. Tomorrow. Or ask Teddy how he feels, and then break up with Jake regardless. I'm not saying you have to do it right away, but you should do it before we go on holiday, and I think you know that. You're not being fair to either of you, and if it's messy when you two break up, imagine what the Quidditch team will be like. Everyone will be against him because we're all close to you, not him, and it could make practices and games really difficult."

"But there's a problem, Lexa," Victoire said.

"What is it?" Alexa asked.

"I don't know how I feel about Teddy," Victoire said, "He's my best mate, you know? I love him, obviously, but I don't know which way I love him, or which ways, and it's making this so much harder."

Alexa exhaled. "Well, that does complicate things a bit."

"More than a bit, if you ask me," Victoire said.

"That would certainly make the Jake thing more difficult," Alexa said, "Because if you break up with him only to discover that you don't love Teddy as anything but a friend, you'll have lost a relationship for no reason… Let me think about it."

"Alright," Victoire said, "I just…"

"Want to do it right," Alexa said, "I understand. Now come on, let's go get something to eat. You can think about this tomorrow. Right now, today is about Monica."

"You're right," Victoire said, "I don't want to ruin her birthday with all of this."

"I can see why not. And Vic?" Alexa said, "I won't say anything to anyone, least of all Teddy. Thanks for trusting me with this."

"Thanks for giving me someone to trust," Victoire said.

Victoire spent the rest of the day with her friends, smiling and laughing, though her conversation with Alexa was at the back of her mind. People filtered out of the room as the day went on, and eventually, Victoire left as well. She opted to take the long way to Gryffindor Tower from Hagrid's hut, who they had gone to visit after dinner, so that she'd be able to think for a while.

As she passed through the sixth floor corridor, she heard a noise from one of the classrooms. Prefect's instinct overtook her, and she went to find the source. She pushed open the door to the third classroom on her right.

What she saw shocked her.

Molly froze at the sight of her cousin.

"Molls?" Victoire said quietly, entering the room, "Sam?"

Molly stepped out of Sam's arms. "Go back to the common room, I'll talk to Vic."

Sam nodded. He left the room silently. Victoire watched him leave before turning back to her cousin.

"Why didn't you tell me? Merlin, why didn't you tell _any_ of us?"

Molly sighed. "I just… I don't know."

Victoire laughed derisively. "Oh, you knew, Molly. You always know. So I ask you again: why didn't you say anything?"

Molly bit her lip, sitting down on the ground and drawing her knees towards herself. "I… Well, we… No one in our group has ever really dated anyone else. And don't say Lex and Liam, because he wasn't really in the group to start out with. I thought it would cause problems if you all knew, and that you'd be angry with me."

"Why would I be mad at you?" Victoire asked, "Molly, I don't care who you date. Okay, I do, but not like that. Sam's nice. I can see why you'd want to date him. That doesn't bother me at all. Now, if he were a git like Luke Handlesman, then we'd have a problem, but he's not."

"He's Teddy's best mate, is all," Molly said, "I don't know… It's just that he's older, and… I guess I thought it would change things."

"It wouldn't change anything," Victoire said, sitting down opposite her cousin, "I love both of you. I want both of you to be happy. Maybe if it was Teddy that you were dating, I'd have a problem with it, but it's not, and I don't. I just have one question."

"What is it?" Molly asked.

"How long?" Victoire asked.

"Since… Two weeks before the summer ended," Molly said, "I'd liked him for ages, and I ran into him while I was in Diagon Alley picking up something for Mum, and we ended up getting ice cream and talking for hours, and… It just sort of happened."

Victoire nodded slowly. "Okay. Well… I forgive you for not telling us, and I'm not mad, but… You should probably say something. Does Teddy know?"

"He does," Molly said quietly, "Sam said that he wouldn't lie to Teddy, not after everything they've been through together. They've been arguing about it all year, it has something to do with whoever it is that Teddy likes, apparently. He was under oath not to say a word, that's why he hasn't said anything to you."

"Alright," Victoire said, "For the record, Molls… You two are sweet and I'm really happy for you. He's nice and your dad likes him, so you shouldn't have any trouble."

"You can't mention this to anyone," Molly said, "I guess we'll tell the rest of the group, but… I don't want my parents to know yet, or the rest of our family. It would just be too awkward if things ended and then he was at every single gathering with Teddy, you know?"

"I know," Victoire said, "Alright. We should probably head back to the dormitory though. It's an hour till curfew, and I don't like to be out this late."

Molly nodded. "Okay."

They went back to the dormitory. Everyone was sitting in the common room, though they were the only ones there. Victoire nudged Molly. She went and sat down besides Sam, whispering something to him. He nodded after a moment, and exchanged a glance with Victoire. She smiled at him, and he raised his eyebrows. She waved her hands at him as she sat down, and he cleared his throat.

"Uh…"

Everyone looked at him. Molly twisted her fingers together before looking at the rest of the group.

"We might as well make this simple," she said, "Sam and I have been dating since mid-August."

"What?" Alexa asked.

"We would've told you, it was just…" Molly trailed off.

"We were worried," Sam said, his voice soft.

"Why would you be worried?" Monica asked, "We don't care, we just want the both of you to be happy."

"We know that," Molly said, "Now, anyway. But you lot can't say anything to anyone, understand?"

Alexa nodded and looked at Victoire and Teddy. "You two are awfully quiet. Did you know?"

"I did," Teddy said, "They made me swear I wouldn't tell."

"And I just found out," Victoire said, "Molls and I already had a discussion about it."

"You lot aren't mad, right?" Molly asked.

"Never would be," Monica said, "I think it's sweet."

"I've got Liam, I'm good," Alexa said.

"You know my thoughts on the matter," Victoire said, stretching.

"And you've known mine for months," Teddy said.

"So you're all alright with this?" Molly asked.

Victoire rolled her eyes. "Molls, let's be honest here, even if we weren't, you'd still do it. I know you. Stubborn as a hippogriff when you want to be."

"It's the Weasley blood," Teddy said, grinning at her.

Molly snickered. "Sounds about right."

"Now, if you don't mind, I'm heading to bed," Alexa said, yawning, "It's been a long day and there have been too many revelations in the past few hours. I'm tired."

"I think I will too," Monica said.

"I might as well," Molly said, "Go recover from the emotional trauma I just went through, you know, that sort of thing."

"Seeing as my lovely girlfriend is abandoning me, I'm going to head to bed too," Sam said, "It's not that I don't love you, Teddy, Vic, but being around just the two of you can be awfully disconcerting, what with all of the references that I don't understand."

Victoire laughed. "Night, you lot."

The four went to bed, leaving Victoire and Teddy to sit quietly on the couch, staring at the fire.

"I wonder what that would be like," Teddy murmured after a while.

"What do you mean?" Victoire asked.

"What it would be like to care about someone so much that you'd be willing to hide from your closest friends in order to be with them," Teddy said.

"I'd imagine that while it would be complicated, it would also be wonderful in its own way," Victoire said, "Love always is, or so I've been told."

"Do you love Jake?"

"Am I bending over backwards to spend time with him?"

"So that's a no, then."

Victoire yawned and leaned against Teddy. He lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

"It's a no, yes," Victoire said, yawning again, "We're in a bit of a rough patch right now, or at least, I am."

"And you've been going out for how long?" Teddy asked.

"Almost two and a half months," Victoire said.

Teddy nodded slowly. "That's why. Honeymoon stage ends and you start to wonder what on earth you're doing."

"Not so much what I'm doing as who I'm doing it with," Victoire said, leaning her head on his shoulder, "I like the idea of being with somebody, but… It doesn't feel right at the moment, I suppose."

"Did it ever?" Teddy asked, his voice soft.

"I don't know," Victoire said, "Honestly. I think I just liked the idea of being together with somebody like that, you know?"

"Yeah," Teddy said, "But I like this too, just you and me."

"So do I," Victoire murmured.

They sat there in silence for a while, content to be with each other, until Teddy looked at the clock and sighed. "I should head back to my dormitory. If I don't leave now I'll be out after curfew, and while you're absolutely lovely, Tori, I would prefer to not get detention."

Victoire nodded. "I should really go to bed too."

He stood and offered her his hand. She took it and he pulled her to her feet, hugging her to him. She smiled, wrapping her arms around him, and they stood there for a moment before he stepped away.

"Love you, Tori."

"Love you too, you ridiculous human being."

With that, he kissed her on the forehead and left the common room. She went up to bed, a small, secretive smile on her face.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews :) Things are starting to get interesting, aren't they? I nearly posted this chapter a bit sooner, but I figured I'd leave you all to languish and wonder where on earth this is going.**

**I have some writing to do, I've only got one more pre-written chapter before I'll have to write them every week so I need to work on that because musical is hell and I'm not going to have time to write soon. **

**I might post the next chapter sooner than next Monday, we'll see how desperate you guys are/how much writing I get done ;)**

**I love you all and thanks for reading x**


	10. Chapter 10

Saturday, December nineteenth, the day that they left for the holidays, came much quicker than any of them could have predicted.

"You lot have all of your stuff ready?" Teddy asked, as they walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Packed last night," Victoire said, yawning.

"I have a couple more things to throw in, but I'm pretty much done," Alexa said.

"It took me all of five seconds to wave my wand and pack everything, so I've been done since yesterday afternoon," Sam said.

Molly grinned. "I'm done."

"I finished right after I woke up," Monica said.

"So none of us have to worry about packing," Teddy said, "That's good, it means we can actually sit at breakfast without having to worry about having enough time to throw all of our things into our trunks."

"That was the idea," Victoire said, "Although I will have to leave a bit earlier than you lot. Have to say goodbye and all of that."

"Of course you do," Molly said, rolling her eyes.

"Don't give me that," Victoire said, "I do."

She caught Alexa's eye. The dark-haired girl raised her eyebrows, and Victoire shrugged. Things had gotten better the week after Monica's birthday, and Victoire had revised her plan of how to handle the situation with Jake. Alexa knew it, but she still questioned Victoire's situation and plan, and she'd told Victoire as much.

"Oh well," Teddy said, "Make sure you get the train on time."

"I will, thanks," Victoire said, rolling her eyes.

"I think we should be more concerned about two specific pairs," Monica said, grinning at Molly and Alexa.

"Oh, shut up," Molly said.

"Liam and I are perfectly capable of getting there on time," Alexa said, "We're more likely to be early than late to anything, you all know that."

"Doesn't mean that we can't take the mickey about it," Teddy said, "And besides, Tori's the responsible one of you lot. The only reason any of you are early to anything is because she drags you along with her. She is the prefect, remember?"

"You really shouldn't tease us about things like this," Molly said, "We can hex you, you know."

"And then you'll get detention," Teddy said, "Head Boy, remember."

"That would be a good threat," Victoire said, sitting down, "But we all know you'd never actually do anything like that to your friends, even if they were the ones to hex you."

"Damn you for knowing me so well," Teddy said, sighing as he sat down beside her.

"Teddy, we all know you that well," Molly said.

"It's the Hufflepuff blood," Victoire said, grinning at Teddy.

"Hufflepuff isn't a bad house," Teddy said.

"I know," Victoire said, "But they're known for being fiercely loyal, so it seemed like a perfectly reasonable statement."

"You are one of the most loyal of the bunch of us," Monica said, "You and Victoire are like…"

"Two halves of the same coin," Alexa said, "To use a Muggle expression."

"Can't have one without the other," Molly said, "Not that we'd want to. Life would be a whole lot less interesting without you two around."

"I'd certainly hope that you wouldn't want us apart," Victoire said, "Teddy and I will be around for a long, long time."

After she had finished eating, she went back to the common room to say goodbye to Jake. She passed a number of other people from her house, and they all smiled and said goodbye to her, except for Ruby and Jade, who did their best to pretend that she didn't exist as they walked past her.

When Victoire entered the common room, it was to see Jake standing by the fireplace staring at the flames, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

"Shall we go for a walk?" he asked, when she reached him.

She nodded, smiling. "Sounds lovely."

They left the common room and walked until they exited the castle and began to make their way through the snow to the lake. They began to make their way around it, neither speaking. After a while, Jake broke the silence.

"Maybe we shouldn't meet each other's parents this holiday."

Victoire raised her eyebrows. "Why not? We've been together for almost three months."

Jake swallowed. "Maybe we… Shouldn't be together."

"What?" Victoire asked, "Jake, what are you saying?"

He sighed. "Vic, I like you, I do, I really do, but I'm not blind."

"What do you mean?" Victoire asked.

"What I mean is, you may like me, but you like someone else a lot more," Jake said, "Maybe you even love him, I don't know."

"I don't know who you mean," Victoire said.

"I think you do, Vic," Jake said, "Whether you've realized it or not. When he comes around, you light up, and it's like you're a whole different person. You're happier, you're more relaxed… You get this look in your eyes, and I've been trying to make it so that you'll look at me like that, but I don't think I'll be able to. I want you to be happy, and if it's not with me… So be it."

Victoire nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, Jake."

"Don't apologize," he said, smiling sadly at her, "You can't help who you love. Clearly he deserves it, or you wouldn't have fallen for him in the first place. Maybe after the holiday, when we come back, we can be friends."

"I'd like that," Victoire said, "And Jake?"

He looked back at her. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"No problem, Vic. I'll see you."

He walked away, hands shoved in his pockets and whistling. Victoire shook her head after a few moments. She walked hurriedly back to the castle and up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower. When she entered the dormitory, Alexa was the only one there.

"I don't know what just happened," Victoire said, sitting down on her bed and staring at the wall, "Well, I do, I just… It was unexpected… Wow."

Alexa looked up from where she was organizing her bags. "What happened? Or are you just going to leave me hanging here?"

"Jake broke up with me," Victoire said, "I think. Or maybe I broke up with him. It was odd. He said that he thought that it might be best if we weren't together, and I didn't protest, and I thanked him for it in the end. Alexa, what just happened?"

"The gates are open," Alexa said, "You're free to figure out your feelings for a certain Teddy Lupin."

"I suppose you're right."

They spent the return journey to King's Cross in the Head's Compartment, just as they had on the way to school on September first.

"Well, things have certainly changed since the beginning of the year, haven't they?" Alexa asked, leaning against Liam. He tucked his arm around her and grinned.

"Maybe for you lot," Monica said dryly.

"They haven't changed much for me," Victoire said, "Came to school single, going home single."

"Wait, what?" Molly asked.

Victoire shrugged. "Jake and I split up."

"When?" Monica asked.

"This morning," Victoire said, "When I went to say goodbye."

"Why?" Molly asked.

"I dunno," Victoire said, eyeing Teddy out of the corner of her eye. He was staring fervently at the wall of the compartment, and she held back a small smile. "We both just sort of agreed that it's probably what's best for us, and that we'll try being friends when we get back from the holidays. I'm kind of glad that it happened, in all honesty. It wasn't really working out anymore."

Molly nodded slowly. "Took you long enough to realize."

Victoire shrugged again. "I can be a little slow sometimes."

Monica laughed. "I'll say."

After a series of small conversations, the compartment fell silent.

"Anyone for a game of Exploding Snap?" Teddy asked eventually, "I'm bored."

After murmurs of assent from the rest of the group, the game began, and Victoire's announcement was forgotten.

When they reached the platform, Victoire hugged everyone carefully. Teddy ruffled her hair and Apparated away, and she went to join her parents and go home.

Her only correspondence with the others for the next few days was a few letters at the beginning of the week.

* * *

_Vic,_

_Save me. My cousins are here from Miami, and they're driving me absolutely mental._

_Or just come over here so that they'll all bother you instead._

_I miss the lot of you, the holidays suck._

_Love,_

_Your favorite American_

_(Monica)_

(Victoire had a bit of a laugh at that one)

* * *

_Vic,_

_Liam met my parents at King's Cross, and they absolutely loved him! He's coming round for dinner in two days, I'm really excited. Dad's awfully pleased too, he's always been a big supporter of Puddlemere and the fact that I'm dating the son of one of the best Keepers they've ever had is making him happy beyond belief._

_I miss you though. I hope that you're managing, what with being stuck in your house and all. Has anything happened with Teddy?_

_Love,_

_Lexa_

* * *

_Vic,_

_Dad's driving me absolutely mental. He's already started harping about my O.W.L.s and how I need to start studying. Just wait till the party, he'll be after you too. _

_I've been talking to Sam a lot, I think we've already exchanged about twelve letters and it hasn't even been two days. I'm trying not to kill Olly though, so we're having a bit of a break right now. That's why I sent this with Ella. _

_Mum's been talking about how she wants to see you, I told her to wait till the party._

_Love,_

_Molly_

* * *

_Tori,_

_You'd better come by for dinner soon, Gran keeps talking about how much she's missed you. It'll start to annoy her that you haven't come if you don't do it within the next three days, and you know that you don't piss off a Tonks if there's something you can do to stop it. _

_(I miss you, too)_

_Life's been pretty dull around here. I'm heading to Harry and Ginny's on Wednesday, Gran's coming as well, at least until Christmas is over, and I'll stay with them for the rest of the holiday. I'm looking forward to the Christmas party, I have the best idea ever for what to do for you. _

_How's the single life suiting you? Well, I hope._

_Yours (since my current shade of hair is a big fat label pronouncing me your property),_

_Teddy_

* * *

_Mon,_

_No can do, sorry. You'll just have to wait until the party on Thursday._

_I miss you too, silly._

_Love,_

_Vic_

* * *

_Lexa,_

_I'm glad that your parents like Liam so much. I figured they would, he's such a nice kid. You'll have to let me know how it goes._

_As for Teddy, nope. He's written me, but I have yet to write back. I have to write Molls first, and then he's next._

_Love,_

_Vic_

* * *

_Molls,_

_I wish I could help you with Uncle Percy, but it's what you get for living with him (I know, I know, he's your dad, you can't avoid it). _

_You'd best not kill your owl, Sam or no Sam. What'd Luce think of you stealing her owl to send your letter?_

_Love,_

_Your favorite cousin _

_(Victoire, obviously)_

* * *

_Teddy,_

_How about I come by on Tuesday? I've missed her too, she and Grandmum are the most amazing cooks (And I enjoy watching her embarrass you, it's fun)._

_I'm looking forward to the party too. It'll be nice to have all of us in one place for a while. And I look forward to whatever it is that you'll have for me, although I am a little scared. I've found that's usually the wisest decision when you're involved. _

_The single life is suiting me fine, especially with the number of jumpers that I stole from a certain someone… It's a comfortable existence._

_Miss you too._

_Lots of love,_

_Victoire_

* * *

_Vic,_

_You suck._

_Love,_

_Mon_

* * *

_Vic,_

_I figured they would too, but you never know (You know?)._

_Shame about Teddy. I hope that you two figure something out._

_Love,_

_Lexa_

* * *

_Vic,_

_I hate you for having parents that are pretty calm about these things. Why couldn't I have been their daughter and you my dad's?_

_I know, I know. Olly's fine. Lucy didn't really care, she's been out with friends practically since we got off the train._

_Love,_

_Molly_

* * *

_Tori,_

_Gran said that would be wonderful, and that she'll make the lasagna since she knows how much you like it. I hate you, by the way. I don't enjoy watching you two squeal over my baby pictures, it's actually slightly nauseating. _

_What I have will be a good surprise. I think. I hope. You deserve a good one. I don't think you need to be scared, but I could be wrong. Who knows._

_I want those back, by the way._

_Yours,_

_Teddy_

* * *

_Mon,_

_I know._

_Love,_

_Vic_

* * *

_Lexa,_

_So do I, but Merlin knows if we will._

_And yes, I do know._

_Love,_

_Vic_

* * *

_Molls,_

_You couldn't be their daughter because I am, or, if you'd prefer another explanation, you can't be their daughter because you don't have the appropriate combination of genes or the 51/49% division of their DNA, and I don't have either for your parents. See? Nice and simple._

_As far as Lucy goes… At least one of us has a life (And when I say that, I mean I don't)._

_Love,_

_Vic_

* * *

_Teddy,_

_Sounds good. I'll be over at five so that we can spend some time together before we eat._

_Also, that's not going to happen, sorry. They're MINE._

_Lots of love,_

_Victoire_

* * *

Tuesday afternoon, Victoire went down to the kitchen dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a well-fitting sweater, boots, and one of Teddy's jumpers. Her mother looked up as she entered the room.

"I'm off to Nana Andromeda's, Mum."

Fleur nodded. "Be careful. Don't come 'ome too late."

"Alright," Victoire said.

"Tell Andromeda that I say hello," Bill said, looking up from the book he was reading.

"Will do," Victoire said.

She kissed both of her parents on the cheek and went to the fireplace. After grabbing a handful of Floo powder, she threw it into the flames. She stepped in the fire and waved goodbye to her parents as she shouted the words "THIRTY-FIVE-SEVENTY ALLISTER LANE."

She appeared in the large fireplace of a room furnished in earth tones. Stepping out of it, she looked around the room, only to see it was empty.

"I'm in the kitchen, Victoire!"

Victoire smiled and went into the kitchen, hugging the woman who stood there. Her light brown hair was streaked with grey, and her dark eyes were sparkling as she looked at Victoire.

"Hello, Nana," Victoire said.

Andromeda smiled warmly. "Victoire, it's so lovely to see you. When was the last time?"

"Over the summer at the Burrow, I believe," Victoire said, "So mid-July, if I'm remembering correctly."

"It's a shame," Andromeda said, "I wish I could see you more often."

"Well, you'll see me twice more over the next week or so," Victoire said, "What with the parties."

"Very true," Andromeda said, "I trust Teddy told you that I'm making lasagna?"

Victoire laughed. "Of course he did. He knows how much I love it. Speaking of Teddy, where is he?"

"Up in his room," Andromeda said, "You're welcome to go up and bring him down here. He's being a seventeen-year-old boy and won't spend time with his poor grandmother."

"I'll get him," Victoire said, "Don't worry. I have my ways."

"I know you do," Andromeda said, chuckling, "That's why I suggested that _you_ get him."

"You're a smart one," Victoire said, "I'll be back, and I'll bring him with me."

She left the kitchen and made her way to the stairs. Once she reached the second floor, she walked down the hall and knocked on a door on the left side.

"No, Gran, I'm not coming down yet," Teddy said.

"You want to bet on that?" Victoire asked, crossing her arms and grinning.

She heard a scuffle from inside the room, then a loud crash, and then the door was wrenched open.

"Tori!"

Teddy hugged her enthusiastically, picking her up off the floor and spinning her around. She laughed and hugged him back, keeping hold of him as he set her back on her feet.

"What did you knock over?" she asked.

"Just a few books," he said, "Nothing important, it doesn't matter."

"So are you going to come downstairs, Mister Lupin?" Victoire asked.

"I dunno," Teddy said, grinning at her, "What's in it for me, Miss Weasley?"

"The pleasure of my company," Victoire said, her smile widening, "And if that's not good enough, a kiss."

"Well, I suppose I'll come down then," Teddy said, "But I want the kiss first."

"Alright," Victoire said. She stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, then took his hand and walked towards the stairs.

"That doesn't count!" Teddy said, following her.

"I never said where," Victoire said, "And you followed me anyway, so it worked."

Teddy sighed. "Foiled again by the likes of a fifteen year old girl. I need to work on my powers of evasion."

"Teddy, I don't think you'll ever be good at evading me," Victoire said, "Ever."

He laughed. "Yeah, you're probably right."

They went into the kitchen to see Andromeda removing the lasagna from the oven. She set it on the stove and turned around, smiling at Victoire.

"You did it, I see."

Victoire grinned. "It wasn't too hard."

"She's too good," Teddy said, shaking his head.

"Well, the lasagna has to cool for a little while before we can eat, so Victoire, how about you tell me what you've been up to?" Andromeda asked, "And what Teddy's been up to as well, since he won't say a word to his old grandmother."

Victoire sighed. "Teddy, Teddy, Teddy, you need to be nicer to her. She's put up with you for all these years." As Andromeda laughed, Victoire hugged Teddy quickly, smiling at his disgruntled expression. "Well, Nana, I haven't been up to too much. Quidditch, school, Prefect duties, and then my friends, of course. As for Teddy, I think it's the same."

"Are you still with that Jake boy?" Andromeda asked, "Teddy wrote me and mentioned him once or twice."

Victoire raised her eyebrows, looking at Teddy, and then turned back to Andromeda. "No, I'm not. We actually split up on Friday morning, before we left school. Mutual decision, nothing bad."

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that," Andromeda said.

"He was nice," Victoire said, shrugging, "Just wasn't right, and it took me a little while to realize that."

"Three months is more than a little while, Tori," Teddy said.

"It wasn't three months yet," Victoire said, making a face at him, "And it was my first relationship. Didn't someone say it should be the one that I'm making the majority of my stupid mistakes in?"

"Someone did, yeah," Teddy said, "Oh, fine. Can we get off the subject of Tori's love life now and move on to something better?"

Andromeda laughed. "Alright, Teddy. Victoire, I was going through some boxes in the attic and I uncovered some more of Teddy's baby pictures, if you'd care to embarrass him some more with me after dinner."

Victoire grinned. "I'm always up for embarrassing Teddy, you know that as well as anyone."

"I hate you both," Teddy said, groaning, "This is why I never like to be alone with the two of you, it always ends in the exchange of embarrassing pictures and or stories about me."

"Well, someone has to do it to you," Victoire said, "And I like to remind you to keep a level head. There's no telling what you'd be like if we didn't deal a little blow to your self esteem every now and then. Besides, I think you were cute when you were little. Why's that embarrassing?"

"Because he's of age and cute isn't an adjective that should be used to describe him at any stage of his life," Andromeda said, smiling, "Ted was the same way when we were at school. He'll get over it in forty years when he's getting old and needs people to remind him that he was attractive once."

"So much abuse," Teddy said.

"Unfortunately for you, you're not going to be escaping either one of us any time soon, so you'd best get used to it," Victoire said.

Andromeda laughed as Teddy made a face.

A half an hour later, they were sitting at the dining room table, having finished eating.

"Who's your dance partner going to be for the parties this year?" Andromeda asked, looking at Victoire, "Seeing as you're old enough to join in with the older bunch now."

Victoire shrugged. "I don't know. I probably won't spend the whole night in the ballroom anyway, we always end up going off and making ourselves a little party in that one living room, the one facing the drive with the doors out to the side. Snowball fights are inevitable."

Andromeda smiled. "I remember the year that Sam and Teddy came up with that idea… You were only nine, and it took you almost half the night to convince your parents to let you join them."

"They still didn't think I was responsible," Victoire said, shaking her head, "I'm the most responsible one of the bunch now, aside from Molly."

"After recent developments, Tori, I don't know if we can say that she's really all that responsible," Teddy said.

Victoire shrugged. "She's always been the one keeping us on track, so she still qualifies."

"I guess," Teddy said.

Andromeda looked between them. "I'm missing something important here, aren't I?"

"Not really," Victoire said, "It's Molly's thing, we were just all a bit surprised by it. We're under oath not to say anything though, so we can't provide you with any other information."

Andromeda nodded slowly. "If you say so, Victoire."

Victoire stretched her arms behind her before grinning at Andromeda. "So, where are those baby pictures?" Teddy groaned.

A little while later, they were sitting on the couch pouring over an old album of photographs. Teddy was sitting on the end of the couch, Victoire using him as a backrest as she looked at the photographs.

"Aw, Teddy, you were so cute in this one."

She pointed to a picture of a little turquoise-haired toddler waving at the camera.

"He was barely two years old then," Andromeda said, smiling fondly at the picture, "You were born two weeks after this was taken, Victoire."

"He really was little then, wasn't he?" Victoire asked, grinning.

"He was," Andromeda said.

They continued to flip through the album, Victoire cooing over every picture. Eventually Andromeda reached over and tugged Teddy's sleeve. "Look at this one."

In the picture, a little blonde-haired girl kissed a turquoise-haired boy on the cheek. He had a broad smile on his face and his arm around the girl's shoulders.

"You were four, Victoire," Andromeda said, "Teddy was six."

"I remember that," Victoire said, "We were down on the beach and you had your camera, and it was the only way that you could get Teddy to stand still for a picture."

"You had power over me even then," Teddy said, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Please, Teddy," Victoire said, "I've had power over you since before you even saw me."

Andromeda laughed. "She is right, you know. You begged Harry to take you to the hospital with him to meet her, because you wanted someone to play with, even though everyone kept telling you that she wouldn't be able to for a while."

"Well, you must be very special then," Teddy said, grinning at Victoire.

"Always have been, " Victoire said, smiling cheekily at him, "And you wouldn't have it any other way, would you?"

"Definitely not," Teddy said, "I like you just the way you are. Beautiful and absolutely terrifying."

"I don't think I've ever heard a better assessment of the women in your family, Victoire," Andromeda said, "Beautiful, yes. Terrifying? Definitely. Even those who are only Weasleys by marriage."

"Most of them, you mean?" Victoire asked, "Yeah, they are a scary bunch when they want to be, I won't argue with that."

"Especially Ginny," Teddy said, wincing, "I saw her use her Bat-Bogey hex on someone once… It really wasn't pleasant."

"Never make me mad, then," Victoire said.

"I know, she taught it to you when you were in second year," Teddy said, "I don't know how you got to be so darn good at it though."

"Lots and lots of practice," Victoire said, "I used to sit up in the dormitory and cast it over and over again when there was no one there. Halfway through third year I had it perfected."

"I remember, you used it on, what was his name… Phillip Casen?" Teddy asked, "For bullying Dom."

"They never found out either," Victoire said, "Which is a trick I learned from you, Mister Lupin."

"Well, I don't know who else you'd have learned it from," Teddy said, "I pride myself on my ability to not get caught for things."

Andromeda laughed. "You always were a prankster."

She went up to bed a while later, leaving Victoire and Teddy to sit peacefully on the couch.

"I forgot what it was like," Teddy said.

"Hmm?" Victoire murmured, her head on his chest and her legs across his lap.

He ran his fingers through her hair as he spoke. "Having you two together. It's nice. It's a family. It feels right."

"I agree. I did say you have a family, remember?" Victoire asked, her eyes shut.

"I do," Teddy said, "Don't fall asleep on me, Tori."

She chuckled quietly. "I won't. I'm just very, very comfortable."

"I'm sure you are," he said softly.

They sat there in silence for a while, Victoire dozing, her head on his chest and her fingers laced with his. His free hand continued to stroke her hair, and he spoke after a while.

"I'll dance with you at the parties."

She smiled. "Do you even remember how? It's been a long time since we made my mum teach us how to waltz."

"Of course I remember how, Tori," Teddy said.

Her smile widened. "Prove it then."

"Let's just hope that you still remember how," Teddy said, sliding out from under her. He stood and flicked his wand. The wireless turned on, playing a soft waltz. He held out his hand to Victoire. She took it and allowed him to pull her to her feet (She'd long since abandoned her boots).

She placed one hand on his shoulder, leaving the other in his hand. He slipped one hand onto her waist, and she fought to keep herself from shivering at the feeling of his fingers pressed against the sliver of skin between the hem of her jumper and her jeans.

He began to move, and soon enough, they were twirling around the living room. He spun her slowly, and she smiled. "Alright, you do remember how to waltz."

He grinned, steering her around the room. "How old were we when we made your mum teach us? It had to have been before Hogwarts, I didn't know Sam then."

"I was seven, you were nine," Victoire said, "We wanted to learn for the Christmas party so that we could dance with the grownups."

"I remember that," Teddy said, "We practiced for weeks."

"And then they were all amazed when we managed to make it through three full songs before we got bored and decided to go find something better to do," Victoire said, laughing softly.

"So are you going to wear a dress?" Teddy asked.

Victoire shrugged. "I don't know, the parties are never _that_ formal. Probably a skirt and a sweater."

Teddy grinned. "I noticed you're wearing one of my jumpers."

Victoire looked down at the navy jumper. "Yeah. Jade and Ruby tried to steal it from me earlier this year."

"Why?" Teddy asked.

Victoire rolled her eyes. "You know why, you prat. They're obsessed with you, remember?"

"It's hard to forget," Teddy said, "But why did they try to steal it?"

"I left it out on my bed," Victoire said, "I was sleeping in it once it started getting cold, and I forgot to put it back in my trunk one morning. They found it and they thought they could take it, never mind the fact that you gave it to me and I didn't steal it in the first place."

"Is this the only one you haven't stolen?" Teddy asked.

Victoire smiled at him. "I don't know, I've got so many at this point."

"I know you do," Teddy said, "For a while there, I'd go looking for a specific one, only to remember that you had it. And it was a different one each time."

"Don't leave them where I can find them and I won't take them," Victoire said.

"Why do you take them anyway?" Teddy said.

"They remind me of you," she said simply.

He nodded. "I see."

They were still dancing a half an hour later, but they'd reached the point where Victoire was leaning her head against Teddy's shoulder as they moved in a small circle. His hand was warm against the small of her back, and she inhaled appreciatively.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"You smell like home," she murmured.

She could tell he was smiling, though she couldn't see his face. He pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her and stopping their motion.

"Love you, Tori."

"Love you too, goof."

They stood there for a while until she spoke again. "What time is it?"

"Eleven fifteen."

She sighed. "I should go home."

"Do you have to?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

He stepped away from her, sighing. "Alright." He moved to the fireplace, taking a bowl off the mantel. "Floo powder for the lady."

She grinned, taking a pinch. "Thanks, Teddy."

"Anytime."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead and gestured towards the fireplace. She threw the powder into it and stepped into the flames. "SHELL COTTAGE."

The last thing she saw was him smiling at her.

* * *

**A/N: **

**I almost forgot that I needed to upload, but I didn't, so WOO!**

**Life is about to get crazy because of musical, so if I don't upload on time for the next two weeks, I'm really really really sorry. I have a ton of tests and lab reports and papers and then I'm stuck at school until at least six every night, so my time is seriously limited right now.**

**I'm enjoying this a lot, the need to write this has not left me yet. It helps that I have an upload schedule.**

**Talk to you guys next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

Christmas Eve dawned cold and clear. Late afternoon found Victoire lounging in the living room with Dom, the two sisters heavily immersed in their conversation.

"You can't be serious."

Victoire nodded. "I know, it was the most bizarre thing."

Dom's mouth dropped. "Well, that's going to make things awkward."

"We'll survive," Victoire said.

"I just wasn't expecting it, that's all," Dom said, "You two seemed like you were really getting on."

"We were, and then it just sort of… Died," Victoire said, "I don't know why I didn't tell you sooner."

"We're both extraordinarily busy," Dom said, "And it's not like we actively seek each other out when we're at school either."

"I suppose," Victoire said, "We should really fix that."

"We probably should," Dom said, "But you have Monica, Molly, Alexa, Sam, and of course, Teddy, so it's not like you really need to find me, and I've got Alannah and Marianne."

"Still," Victoire said, "We are sisters, we should really be more aware of each other at school."

"Maybe, maybe not," Dom said.

"Victoire, Dominique."

The girls looked up to see their mother standing in the doorway.

"We are going to leave in 'alf an 'our," Fleur said.

"I should really change then, shouldn't I?" Victoire said, standing, "Thanks Mum."

Fleur smiled and retreated to the kitchen, where she had been preparing a dessert for the party. Victoire and Dom went upstairs to their bedrooms, exchanging a parting glance before they left each other.

Victoire changed swiftly, pulling on a cream colored sweater, dark green skirt, and knee-high black boots. She brushed out her hair, shouldered a bag filled with clothes, and stuffed her wand into her boot before going back downstairs. Her parents stood by the fireplace when she entered the kitchen, and she hugged them both.

"You look wonderful, Vic," Bill said, smiling.

"Thanks, Dad," Victoire said.

"What if you lot have another snowball fight?" Bill asked, "And do you have things for the night and tomorrow?'

Victoire gestured to the bag she had slung over her shoulder. "Multiple sets of clothes right here."

"Good thinking," Bill said.

"Are we ready?" Dom asked, entering the room. She wore a pair of dark jeans and a loose, dark green button down over a red tank-top, and she too had a bag over her shoulder

"Just waiting on Louis," Bill said.

The aforementioned boy skidded into the room a minute later. "Sorry, I misplaced my-"

"It's fine, Lou," Bill said, his smile widening at the sight of his disheveled son, "Ready?"

Louis nodded. "Ready."

Bill held the bowl of Floo Powder to Victoire. She took a pinch and threw it into the fire, shouting "POTTER MANOR" as she stepped into the emerald flames.

She reappeared in the huge kitchen in the old manor house. Ginny stood at the kitchen table clutching a mug, and she set it down and stepped towards her niece as Victoire emerged from the flames.

"Vic!" Ginny said, "They sent you first?"

Victoire laughed. "That they did."

"Well, you can leave your things in the usual spot," Ginny said, "Nearly everyone is in the ballroom, you can join them when you're done."

"Brilliant," Victoire said. She hugged her aunt swiftly before hurrying upstairs to the room that she had claimed as her own as a small child, and used ever since.

Once she'd left her things in the pale blue bedroom, she went downstairs to the ballroom.

Potter Manor was huge, and old. It had been in the Potter family for centuries, and it had belonged to the Peverells before that, before Potter had become the family name. It was one of the few ancient Wizarding homes left (Malfoy Manor was young by comparison), and had been Harry's father's childhood home. As such, Harry had elected to move into it rather than one of the many other properties owned by the Potters. With its numerous bedrooms, massive living spaces, and well-warded boundaries, it had become the customary gathering place for the Weasley-Potter clan, and all of their friends.

The boundaries were necessary. Nerves from the war had never quite worn off, and the family as a whole was happier when they knew they were well protected. None of the Weasley (or Potter) children remembered the war, not even Teddy, who had been born during it. However, they all knew how their parents and relatives felt about what had happened, and suffice to say, while they didn't understand the emotions that prompted the wards, they certainly understood the reasoning behind them.

The manor had always been one of Victoire's favorite places. Some of her earliest memories with Teddy had taken place there, and she had spent every Christmas and New Year's Eve there since she had been born. The ancient architecture was still beautiful, even after centuries of existence, and the house had been tastefully updated from era to era as time went by. As large as it was, the manor was full of signs of life, thanks to frequent visits from all of the friends and relatives.

Victoire entered the massive ballroom, only to be hugged from behind. She whirled to see Alexa grinning at her and Liam standing behind her best friend, smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry, Vic," Liam said, "I tried to stop her."

"You have got to stop doing that," Victoire said, looking at Alexa, "Thanks for trying, Liam."

"I was just excited to see you," Alexa said.

"It's literally been five days," Victoire said, "And we owled, it's not like you haven't heard from me in five years."

"I know, but you're my best mate and I missed you," Alexa said.

Victoire grinned. "Missed you too." Her smile faded. "But seriously, Lexa, I love you, but stop surprising me with hugs like that. One of these days, I'm going to end up with a severe injury because of you."

"Sure you will," Alexa said.

"We really don't want to cause her pain," Liam said, "Be more careful, maybe?"

Alexa rolled her eyes. "With you two keeping after me about it, I don't see how I'll have a choice."

Victoire eyed her friend, taking in the knee length red dress and green sweater. "Nice choice of color, Lexa."

"You too," Alexa said, "No red?"

"I can solve that problem."

Victoire felt something being lowered onto her head, and she turned to see Teddy grinning at her. She laughed. "What did you just put on my head, you prat?"

"A Santa hat," Teddy said, shrugging.

"Thanks," Victoire said, "I really needed that."

"I dunno, Vic, I think it completes the outfit."

Victoire whirled around to see Monica standing there. The blonde had a wide smile on her face, and she opened her arms. Victoire hugged her. "So you survived your cousins, I see."

"Just barely," Monica said, "Have you lot seen Molly?"

"She's probably with Sam," Teddy said, "He was here before anyone else, and she went looking for him as soon as she got here."

"She beat me?" Victoire said, making a face, "Bollocks, that means I owe her a Sickle."

"You bet about who would get here first?" Liam asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Those two bet about a lot of things, mate," Teddy said, "You'll learn that eventually. Speaking of, who won that other bet?"

Victoire raised her eyebrows. "You mean the one about the cat?"

"Yeah," Teddy said, "Or has no one won yet?"

"Aunt Hermione won," Victoire said.

"She kept it?" Teddy asked.

"Well, Rose did, but Aunt Hermione bet that she'd talk Uncle Ron into it before Dom or Lucy could talk Dad or Uncle Percy into letting them have a cat," Victoire said.

"What'd she name it?" Alexa asked.

"Minnie," Victoire said.

Teddy sniggered. "That's nice."

"Why are you laughing at that?" Liam asked.

"That's what Sirius called Professor McGonagall while he was at school," Teddy said, "Harry was telling me about it a while ago. She always hated it."

"Speaking of, is she here?" Alexa asked, "I thought I saw her, but I could be wrong."

"No, she is," Teddy said, "She always comes early to help out. I think she misses seeing Harry and Ginny at school, even if they did cause her a bit of trouble."

"She always was proud of him," Victoire said, "Aunt Ginny too. It's only logical that she'd want to be here."

Liam grinned. "Dad always talks about how excited he is about these parties. I think he misses all of his school friends."

"Well, I mean, half of our parents worked together, or were on the Quidditch team together, or something," Teddy said, "I'd imagine that they really enjoy having time together that doesn't involve worrying about being killed."

"That's a bit blunt, but I agree," Victoire said, "They deserve a normal life filled with friends after all of the things that they went through."

"They really do," Alexa said, "I mean, my parents were in the States for it, but they certainly heard about it. Mum had a hell of a time convincing Dad that he needed to stay with her instead of coming over here. Good thing she did too, he was Muggle-born and they would have killed him on sight."

"This is a depressing topic for Christmas, can we move on?" Monica asked, "Lex, come help me find Molly."

"Sounds good," Alexa said, "Come on, Liam." She looked at Victoire and Teddy. "See you two later."

Victoire smiled. "Sounds great, Lexa."

The trio walked away, leaving Victoire and Teddy standing by the wall. Teddy leaned against it, raising his eyebrows at Victoire. "Nice outfit."

She spun around. "Like it?"

He grinned. "I do. As usual."

"Good," she said, "By the way, Mister Lupin, you still haven't given me a hug yet."

Teddy laughed. "I suppose you're right, Miss Weasley."

Before she could stop him, he picked her up and spun her in a circle. She smiled against his neck as he held her, and made a face at him as she felt her feet hit the ground. "Thanks."

"Anytime," he said, "You should probably go be social, Miss Weasley."

"So are we sticking with the polite names tonight, Mister Lupin?" Victoire asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Until I get bored," Teddy said, "Miss Weasley."

He offered her his arm. She laughed and slipped her hand through his elbow. "Mister Lupin."

He led her through the people that had started to arrive, and she smiled at everyone as they passed. The attendees were used to their antics, and didn't bat an eye at the sight of the eldest Weasley child being escorted on the arm of Harry Potter's godson.

It had just started to get dark out when more people began to arrive. The ballroom was soon filled with whirling couples, and eventually Teddy pulled Victoire into the mass of people. They began to cut a path through the dancing couples, and Teddy grinned at Victoire.

"What?" she asked.

"I guess our practice was helpful," he said, spinning her.

She laughed. "A bit, yeah."

Teddy rolled his eyes. "More than a bit, I'd say."

"Bored of Miss Weasley already?" Victoire asked.

"Not a bit, Miss Weasley," Teddy said, winking at her.

"You are a prat."

Teddy grinned. "But I'm a prat that you love, so it's all good."

"True, true," Victoire said, "You're lucky that you're handsome."

"Oh, I am, am I?" Teddy asked.

"Always have been," Victoire said, "Except when you do stupid things with your nose."

Teddy chuckled. "I'll try not to do stupid things with my nose, then. At least, not unless you ask me to."

"Well, at least you know who's in charge here," Victoire said.

"When a lovely lady such as yourself is involved, you're always in charge," Teddy said, smiling softly at her, "Miss Weasley."

He lowered his head. Victoire braced herself in anticipation, only for Teddy's head to shoot up again.

"TEDDY LUPIN."

Victoire looked towards the edge of the room. A tall, dark-haired girl stood there, holding out her hand.

"Come on, Vic," Teddy said, grabbing her hand and dragging her towards the dark-haired girl.

Victoire's eyes widened at his use of her usual nickname. He had never called her that, not since they were little, not unless he was angry with her, and even then, he almost never stopped calling her by his nickname for her. She followed behind him, only for her eyes to narrow as he dropped her hand and took the hand of the other girl.

"Gianna," Teddy said.

The pretty girl smiled. "Teddy Lupin. I should have known you'd be here."

"What are you doing here?" Teddy asked, "This party is for friends and family, and while you're lovely, Gi, you're not exactly either."

Gianna laughed. Like everything else about her, the sound was perfect, high and clear. "I thought I'd drop by for a visit, and Harry wasn't opposed to the idea of me sticking around."

Concluding that Teddy wasn't going to introduce her, Victoire lightly touched his hand. "Teddy, I'm going to go-"

"Later, Vic," he said, making a shooing motion with his hand.

Her eyes watering, Victoire walked away from the pair. She hurried through the ballroom, her head down, and when she reached the door she wanted, she slipped into the massive library and pulled the mahogany door shut behind her. After removing the Santa hat from her head, she threw it in a corner and sat down in one of the overstuffed armchairs.

"What's wrong, Vic?"

Victoire looked up to see Dom standing there, arms crossed. "What are you doing in here, Dom?"

"The better question is, what are _you_ doing in here?" Dom asked, "Shouldn't you be out there having fun with Teddy?"

"_Mister Lupin_ is otherwise occupied," Victoire said, "I figured I'd come in here."

"What's he doing?" Dom asked.

"Some girl showed up," Victoire said, "She's sort of familiar, but I don't remember why. She called him out of the dance and he essentially told me to go away."

Dom raised her eyebrows. "What's her name?"

"Gianna?" Victoire said.

"Oh."

"Why oh?" Victoire asked.

Dom sighed. "Do you remember that girl that Teddy dated when he was in fifth year?"

"You mean the one that he was completely hung up on until she broke up with him right before Valentine's Day?" Victoire asked, "Yeah, I remember. The prat was heartbroken."

"That was Gianna Simmons," Dom said, "Her sister Yasmin is in Ravenclaw, in Teddy's year."

"What would she be doing here?" Victoire asked.

"Honestly, Vic, I have no idea," Dom said, sitting down in the chair across from her sister, "She probably heard that Teddy's turned into quite the catch and decided to show up and see if she could snag him."

"Why would he just let her though?" Victoire asked, "I remember how upset he was."

"She's pretty, she was his first real girlfriend," Dom said, "She graduated last year, they haven't seen each other, and you know the whole time heals all wounds thing."

"But what about me?" Victoire asked, her voice quiet, "Don't I mean _anything?"_

"What did he do, exactly?" Dom asked.

"Dragged me off the dance floor, proceeded to start talking to her, and didn't introduce me," Victoire said.

"Well, he might have assumed she already knew-"

"I told him that I was going to leave and he didn't let me finish my sentence," Victoire said, "He waved me off instead. He was calling me Vic, Dom."

Dom exhaled swiftly. "Oh. That changes things. He never calls you that."

"I know," Victoire said, "Which is why I've got a huge problem. I don't really care about dating him, Dom, but he's my best mate and he's not supposed to just forget about me like that."

"Vic, you do care about dating him," Dom said, "You're bloody in love with him."

"No I'm not," Victoire said.

Dom rolled her eyes. "Sure, Vic. Anyway, continue."

"Well, I do care about dating him, okay," Victoire said, "But I'm not jealous, Dom. I don't care if he likes someone else, as long as he's happy, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah," Dom said.

"I just…" Victoire sighed. "He's my best mate, Dom. We do everything together, and he's never blown me off like that before, least of all on Christmas."

"We're going to solve this problem," Dom said, "Starting with you."

"What do you mean?" Victoire asked.

"Go upstairs and get changed," Dom said, "Time to take out your emotions with some snowballs."

Victoire laughed. "You're probably on to something with that."

Sure enough, twenty minutes later, Victoire, Alexa, Monica, Molly, Roxy, Tara, and Dom were facing off against Sam, Liam, Nick, Jack, Matt, James, and Fred.

"YOU ARE GOING DOWN," Molly yelled, ducking behind the wall they had built as Sam pitched a snowball at her.

"Keep dreaming, sweetheart," he called back.

Victoire grinned at Molly, whose eyes had narrowed. "He's going to get it, isn't he?"

Molly nodded slowly. "Oh, he is."

Victoire watched as her cousin stood, aimed, and threw in one smooth motion. The sound of a shout let Victoire know that the snowball had made its mark.

"Face?" Victoire asked.

"Face," Molly said.

"You are a cruel, cruel girl," Victoire said.

"He needs it sometimes," Molly said, "He'll survive, he's a Beater, for Merlin's sake."

"I don't doubt it," Victoire said. She picked up a snowball from the arsenal they'd built and stood, throwing it hard and square. Her Chasing skills paid off, and it struck James hard in the chest. The eleven-year-old's eyes narrowed, and Victoire ducked swiftly as he threw a snowball at her. It hit the ground behind her, and she chuckled.

"NICE TRY, JAMES."

"You're asking for it, Vic."

Victoire grinned at Jack. Nick's close friend was laughing, his green eyes bright.

"I know," Victoire said, "And you're setting yourself up for it."

She threw the snowball she was holding. It struck him square on the side of the face.

"Oh, it's on," he said, wiping the snow from his cheek, "You have started a war, Vic, and you're not going to win it."

"Keep telling yourself that," Victoire said.

A moment later, she felt herself begin to fall. She landed in the snow, Nick and Jack's best friend Matt on top of her.

"And you set yourself up for that," he said, grinning at her, "You should be on your guard more."

"Get off me, you lump," Victoire said, shoving him. Before she could stand, Dom had seen what was happening.

"PILE ON VICTOIRE!" her sister yelled.

Soon enough, everyone had piled atop Matt and Victoire.

"Guys, can't breathe," Victoire wheezed, "Please move."

"Ah, get off her," Sam said. He stood up, and started to pull everyone else up as well. Victoire sat up eventually, coughing.

"You do realize I probably weigh no more than a fifteenth of what was just piled on me, right? Probably less?"

"Yeah, we should've thought that one through more," Jack said, "Sorry about that, Vic."

She waved him off. "I mean, I've had worse, but _ow."_

"Shall we continue our war?" Nick asked.

"Sounds good to me," Monica said.

They went back to their forts. Finally, at eleven, after two hours of their intense battle, they gave up and decided to go inside and get some hot chocolate (However, this only happened _after_ Monica had made the boys swear that the girls had won).

Victoire stopped in the alcove outside the door to the kitchen, looking out at the grounds. Aside from the area that they had been playing in, everything else was pristine and beautiful. Snow was still falling, and the light coming from the house caught the flakes in a shower of glitter. Victoire sighed, the cold air turning her breath into a cloud in front of her face.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

Victoire turned to see Hermione standing there, wrapped in a coat, a Gryffindor scarf and hat on. The older woman smiled at her. "I've been visiting this house for nearly twenty years, I lived in it for four, and it still amazes me."

"It's lovely," Victoire said, "It makes me feel…"

"New," Hermione said, "At least, that's how it makes me feel. You should have seen Ron and Harry and me the first winter that we were in this house. The snow was like an eraser, scrubbing out all of the bad things that had happened to us. It's so clean, a blank canvas, it makes everything seem a lot more hopeful."

"That's scarily accurate," Victoire said, looking out over the lawn. She sighed.

"What's wrong, Vic?" Hermione asked.

Victoire looked at her aunt, who was watching her intently. "It's… Nothing."

"Is it Teddy?" Hermione asked.

"It's stupid," Victoire said.

"It's not stupid, Vic," Hermione said, "I know the feeling better than you might think."

"I don't know what the feeling is though," Victoire said.

Hermione sat down on the only stair that hadn't been covered in snow. She patted the area beside her, and Victoire sat down.

"It's called loving someone who doesn't seem to see it," Hermione said, "It happened to me with your Uncle Ron. You know the story."

"But I thought he saw it," Victoire said quietly, "And I know this makes me sound so stupid and naïve, but…"

"It's not stupid, or naïve," Hermione said, "You've known him so long, Vic. Don't give up on him so easily. I know Gianna Simmons, she's a trainee in my department. She's beautiful and she gets what she wants. She should've been in Slytherin, if you ask me, but I won't question the hat."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Victoire whispered, "Did it hurt like this, Aunt Hermione?"

Hermione sighed. "Dear, I'd imagine it hurts you worse, because he acted like he saw it. But yes, it did. As for what you should do… I won't tell you to fight her for him, because you shouldn't. What I will tell you is to make sure that _Teddy_ knows how you feel. I've known that boy longer than you have, remember, and I know him quite well. You're the most important thing in his life, Vic."

"So why did he ignore me?"

"Men do stupid things when they see a girl that they thought loved them," Hermione said dryly, "Or at least, a girl that convinced them that they were good enough."

Victoire leaned her head against Hermione's shoulder. The brown-haired woman hugged her tightly. "It'll be alright, Vic, I swear. You just have to talk to him."

"I hope you're right," Victoire said.

After a short while, she sat up. "Is there any hot chocolate?"

Hermione laughed. "Ginny made a pot for the lot of you, it's on the stove."

"Great," Victoire said, "I think I'm going to get some and turn in for the night."

Hermione nodded knowingly. "Normally I'd tell you not to miss all of the fun, but right now, that's probably what's best for you."

"Thanks, Aunt Hermione," Victoire said, standing.

Hermione stood as well. She smiled kindly at her niece. "I'm always here if you need to talk, Vic. You know that."

"I do," Victoire said.

She followed her aunt into the house. After fetching herself a mug of hot chocolate, Victoire approached her sister and three best friends.

"I'm going to go to bed," Victoire said, "I'll see you three on New Year's, I guess, and Dom, I'll see you in the morning."

"I'll pop in tomorrow if I get the chance," Alexa said, "I need to bring you your gift and all."

"And I'll see you for dinner," Molly said, "Remember?"

"Right," Victoire said.

"I'll probably join Lex," Monica said, "You go to sleep though, Vic."

"Goodnight, guys," Victoire said, "You know that you're the best friends a girl could ask for?"

The three girls smiled. "We know."

"Night, Dom," Victoire said, tugging her sister's ponytail.

"Night, Vic," Dom said, "You sure you're alright?"

"Positive," Victoire said, "I just don't really feel like being in there anymore."

"Understandable," Dom said, "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yep," Victoire said.

Dom half-smiled. "Love you, Vic."

"Love you too, Dom," Victoire said.

She said one last goodnight and then went upstairs. Once she had put on her pajamas, she slid under the covers of the huge canopy bed. She stared at the cloth above her as she drank her hot chocolate. Just after she had finished it and turned out the light, the door opened and shut. She heard someone walk quietly toward the bed, and she rolled over to face the opposite wall.

"Vi- Tori?"

Victoire clenched her teeth, pressing her lips together firmly.

She could hear the floorboards creak as Teddy came closer, and then the slight squeak of the bedsprings as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Tori?"

It was all she could do to keep herself from turning to look at him, but instead, she stared intently at the curtains that were filtering moonlight as it entered the room.

"You should be downstairs, Tori, not up here. It's Christmas Eve still, please come down."

She didn't respond.

"Tori, there's only another fifteen minutes left. Come downstairs, please."

She tucked her chin to her chest, counting silently in her head.

"I said I had the best present for you. Let me give it to you down there."

She exhaled.

"I'm begging you, Tori."

Breathe in. Breathe out. One, two, one, two.

"Please, Tori, it's Christmas Eve. You can't do this."

That did it.

She sat up, whirling toward him. "Ted Remus Lupin, _don't you dare tell me what I can and can't do."_

He was silhouetted in the moonlight, and she saw his eyes widen. "Did I do something?"

She laughed derisively. _"Did you do something? _I don't know, you tell me, Mister _Later, Vic."_

"Oh."

"Yeah, Teddy, _oh."_

"I'm sorry, Tori, it was just that it was Gianna, and I haven't seen her in-"

Victoire glared at him. "No, you aren't allowed to apologize for blowing me off like that, and _don't call me Tori._ Do you _not_ remember what she did you when you were in fifth year?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Teddy, there are no buts here. She destroyed you when she broke up with you fifth year. I was there. I picked up the pieces. And don't you dare tell me I'm overreacting. Teddy, you could have introduced me to her, at the very least, but what do you do instead? Start talking to her, and when I try to tell you that I'm going to leave, you don't even let me. You just tell me _later_. Well, Teddy, when is later? Is later tomorrow? Two days? A week? I don't _care_ that you were talking to her. I don't care who you talk to. It's your life. What I do care about is the fact that you didn't even bother to introduce me. You forgot about me the minute you saw her, and if you expect me to be okay with that, you're kidding yourself. You're my friend, but you are _not_ allowed to do that, not even for your stupid ex-girlfriend."

Teddy sighed. "What can I do to make this better? I messed up big time, I know that."

"Just go, Teddy," Victoire said, lying back down and staring at the wall again, "I don't really want to deal with you right now."

"But _I _want to deal with _you."_

"Seriously, Teddy, leave me alone," Victoire said.

"No."

"Why? So that I have to wallow in misery in public?"

She felt him shift his position on the bed. "I understand that I ignored you, but why would that make you wallow in misery? It's me. I do stupid things. Quite frequently, I might add."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand, alright? Can you please just go away?"

"No, I can't."

"Why not?"

She felt him move closer to her. "Because I'm not going to let you spend the end of Christmas Eve alone in a room while everyone else is having fun downstairs."

"Did you ever think that I might want to spend the end of Christmas Eve by myself in a room?"

She could feel him lay down before he spoke. "I don't think you want to, Victoire, because I know how excited you were about today, and because I know what I wanted to do."

The way his voice caressed her name made her shiver slightly, but she kept her voice level and cool as she spoke. "What did you want to do?"

"I wanted to give you your gift, and watch your face once you'd opened it and saw what it was. I wanted to spend the evening dancing with you, and I wanted you to crush me in the snowball fight like you always do, and then I wanted to kiss you at midnight, and I screwed that all up because I'm an idiot and Gianna Simmons is attractive."

"Well, at least you got one part of that right."

"What do you mean?"

"You're an idiot."

"Yeah, I am."

"At least you admit it."

He sighed. "Can I at least give you your present now? I want to do at least one part of this right."

She took a deep breath. "Fine. But if I'm still angry with you afterward, you have to leave, and you're not allowed to argue."

"If that's what you want, then that's what I'll do. Can you at least face me?"

With a heavy sigh, she rolled over to face him. He handed her a small gift wrapped in scarlet paper and tied with a gold ribbon. She unwrapped it slowly and carefully, only to see a black, velvet covered box. After taking a deep breath, she opened the box. A silver bracelet glinted in the moonlight, and she gasped. "Teddy, it's beautiful."

He nodded. "My dad bought it for my mum, before they… Anyway, there was a note that said that he was going to give it to her on their one-year anniversary. Uncle Harry found it in my vault a few years ago, and he told me to save it for the right person, so I did."

"You're making it awfully hard for me to be mad at you."

He smiled slightly. "Does that mean I can stay?"

"Only if you put this on me," she said, holding up the box.

He chuckled quietly and removed the bracelet from its bed. After carefully fastening it around her wrist, he pressed a gentle kiss to the pulse point of her wrist.

"I really am sorry."

She sighed. "You're forgiven. But don't do that again, Teddy, please, it really did hurt."

"I know, and like I said, I'm sorry," he said, "I'll be honest with you, all I wanted to do when I took you over to her was show her that I had you, but that plan didn't go so well."

"You could have told me that was what you wanted to do," Victoire said, "I would've waited then."

"I don't know," Teddy said, "I kind of like how this turned out."

"What, having to argue with me in a dark room while everyone else is downstairs having fun?"

He shook his head. "No, lying with you in a huge, comfortable bed, and making sure you know that I really do care about you."

Before she could respond, the house began to ring with the sound of the bell that Harry had charmed to ring at midnight.

"You know what they say about midnight on Christmas Eve, don't you?" Teddy said.

Victoire smiled coyly. "I don't, why don't you tell me?"

"You have to kiss someone," Teddy said, before he pulled her to him and kissed her.

She was conscious of every place their bodies were touching as she melted into his grip. He pulled back as the last chime faded, brushing her nose with his.

"Yeah, I definitely like how this turned out."

* * *

**A/N: So I lied, I finished it. I wasn't going to, but I had to. I couldn't bring myself to go to bed without finishing it, so here it is.**

**I'm going to write the next chapter tomorrow, probably, and I might post it early because I'm really really really enjoying this, so I hope you enjoy this chapter, and look out for the next one!**

**I'm off to bed now, but I hope this is a satisfactory update for you.**

**I love all of you x**


	12. Chapter 12

Victoire smiled, brushing her nose against Teddy's as they laid in her bed at the Potters'.

"I like how this turned out too," she said, "And I don't have to feel guilty about it either."

Teddy laughed. "Not one little bit. Good start to Christmas, then?"

"Best start to Christmas, I think," Victoire said.

"Well, how am I going to top this next year, then?" Teddy asked.

Victoire raised her eyebrows. "So you think you'll still be around to top this next year, do you?"

"I'm hopeful," Teddy said, pressing feather-light kisses to her jaw.

"If you keep doing that, you'll be here for a long, _long_ time," Victoire said.

"So do you think they would find it strange if I was in your bed when they came to wake you up?" Teddy asked, "Because I'm very comfortable and seriously tempted to fall asleep right here."

"It's happened so many times that I doubt they'd think anything of it," Victoire said, "And I'm awfully comfortable too."

"Well, I certainly hope that you're right," Teddy said, slipping underneath the blankets beside her, "I don't plan on moving any time soon."

"Won't you be uncomfortable in your clothes?" Victoire asked.

Teddy shrugged. "I'll be fine, and it'll seem less strange if I'm in my clothes instead of my pajamas. They'll just think that we fell asleep while talking to one another, or something like that."

Victoire sighed. "I feel bad now, not being down there with everyone."

"We could always sneak downstairs," Teddy said, "No one will care if you're in pajamas. They'll probably think that it's a great idea, actually, and everyone will change to be like you."

"I guess," Victoire said, "Would you mind?"

"I don't care," Teddy said, smiling at her, "I think you're cute either way, so we might as well."

Victoire rolled her eyes and sat up. She got out of bed and pulled on her dressing gown and slippers before looking expectantly at Teddy. "Well, are you coming?"

He laughed and got out of the bed as well. "That I am."

He approached her and reached for her hand. She shook her head. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that… I don't want things to become awkward with everyone else if this goes wrong. Better that they don't know for a while, if that makes sense. Dom can know, and so can Molly and that bunch that we're with all the time, but the rest of the family…"

Teddy nodded. "I know. But you don't think this will last?"

"I want it to, but who knows where we'll be in a year," Victoire said.

"I suppose," Teddy said, "But you do have to promise me that we'll tell them eventually."

"Of course we'll tell them," Victoire said, "One day. Merlin, Teddy, it's not like I'd want us to get married and keep it a secret. And you have to remember, you're of age. I'm not."

"You're only two years younger than I am," Teddy said.

"I know," Victoire said, "But I'm only fifteen, and you're seventeen, and you'll be eighteen soon enough. They just might think it's odd, or that I'm a bit young. And my dad may like you, but there's no telling how he's going to feel about you dating me."

"So we're dating?" Teddy asked, raising his eyebrows.

Victoire blushed. "Well, I- uh-"

Teddy laughed. "I was just taking the mickey, Tori. I'd be honoured if you'd be my girlfriend."

"I guess you're honoured then."

"Well then, girlfriend, shall we go downstairs and pretend that everything is normal in front of everyone?" Teddy asked.

Victoire grinned. "Sounds great, boyfriend."

She led the way out of the room, Teddy close behind. When they reached the ballroom, Fleur raised her eyebrows at her daughter's state of dress.

"Sorry, Mum," Victoire said, "I was going to just go straight to bed, but Teddy convinced me to come back down here for a while."

"Just until everyone leaves," Teddy said, "Or almost everyone, anyway."

"I see," Fleur said, "Well, zey will not be surprised, I zink."

"That's what I figured," Teddy said, "Hey, Tori, come on, I want to introduce you to someone."

He led her across the room to where Gianna stood. The dark-haired girl's grey eyes lit up at the sight of Teddy, and her mouth curled into a small smirk at the sight of Victoire in her dressing gown.

"Teddy," Gianna said, holding out her hand again.

Teddy ignored it, instead placing his hand on the small of Victoire's back. "I meant to introduce you two earlier, my apologies. Gianna, you remember Victoire Weasley, I trust?"

"Your shadow, you mean?" Gianna said, "Yes, I remember her."

"She's not my shadow," Teddy said, "She's my best mate, right Tori?"

"Right," Victoire said, leaning into him slightly, "It's lovely to meet you, Gianna."

"I'm sure," Gianna said, "You didn't seem so interested earlier."

"I wasn't feeling well," Victoire said

"I doubt that," Gianna said, raising one perfect eyebrow, "I saw you outside."

"A few minutes alone in the library made me feel a lot better, thank you," Victoire said, "Teddy, can we please go now?"

Teddy lightly traced her hip with his fingers. "Dance with me one more time first."

Victoire smiled slightly at him. "Of course." She kept her smile fixed firmly in place as she looked at Gianna. "Gianna."

"Goodbye, Gianna," Teddy said.

The older girl crossed her arms and nodded once. Teddy steered Victoire away from Gianna and out into the middle of the room. They began to waltz slowly, revolving with the rest of the couples still dancing.

"You handled that well," Teddy murmured.

Victoire smiled. "She thought I wasn't going to."

"I know," Teddy said, "I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you," Victoire said, her smile widening, "I try." Her smile faded slowly. "Really though, Teddy, when this song is over, can we please go to bed? I really am tired. I've had quite the emotional shifts over the last twenty-four hours."

"As I've said, anything for you," Teddy said, "It's all about you, you know. Bed is perfectly fine with me." He yawned. "It actually sounds like a great idea, in all honesty. I'm exhausted."

"Brilliant," Victoire said.

When the song ended, they snuck out of the ballroom and went back to Victoire's room. In the darkness, they slipped under the blankets. Teddy pulled Victoire to him, and she curled up with her head on his chest.

"Goodnight, Teddy."

"Goodnight, Tori."

"Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too, love."

* * *

A shriek woke them the next morning.

Victoire's eyes shot open. "What in Merlin's name-"

"What did you two _do_ last night?" Molly asked, crossing her arms.

"I suppose we might as well tell her now," Teddy murmured.

"Probably," Victoire said, "So much for a secret."

"Is anyone going to tell me what's actually happening, or am I going to have to listen to the two of you act like this for the next three hours?" Molly asked, "Also, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Teddy said.

"Merry Christmas, Molls," Victoire said, "You can't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, understand?"

"Yes, yes, of course," Molly said, "Now tell me."

Victoire exchanged a glance with Teddy, who nodded slightly. She looked back at Molly. "Teddy and I are together."

"_What?" _Molly's voice was a shocked whisper. "You're _what?"_

Victoire rolled her eyes. "You heard me, Molls, and remember, you can't say anything about this to anyone."

Molly gaped at her for a moment before finding her voice. "Why not? Everyone would be happy for you, why keep it a secret?"

"For the same reason that you kept your relationship with Sam a secret," Victoire said.

"We don't want it to be weird for everyone else if we split up," Teddy said.

"And besides, we're not going to keep it a complete secret," Victoire said, "We're going to tell our lot from school, but the rest of the family don't need to know just yet. We'll tell them eventually, but it's a bit soon to be saying anything to any of them."

Molly nodded slowly. "So who exactly gets to know?"

"You, Lex, Monica, Sam, Liam, Dom, possibly Nick and Chelsea," Teddy said, "We're not going to tell James or any of that bunch, just because they don't need to know, and if they know, everyone else will find out."

"What about Serenity?" Molly asked, "I'm going to assume that you two will be spending a lot of time in your dormitory in order to keep this secret, Teddy, so shouldn't you tell your roommate?"

"We'll have to talk about that," Victoire said, "I didn't even think of it."

"To be fair, love, we haven't even had a day to think about these things yet," Teddy said.

"Well, are you two going to come downstairs?" Molly asked, "Everyone's waiting to open presents, I just have to get Lils after you two. Although, Teddy, you might want to put on some pajamas so they at least _think_ that you were in your own bed last night."

"You're probably right," Teddy said. He kissed Victoire swiftly and stood up. "See you downstairs, love."

"See you," Victoire murmured, watching him leave. Molly groaned, and Victoire looked at her. "What?"

"I'm going to have to watch that for the next forever, aren't I?" she asked, "Merlin, even Sam and I aren't that bad."

"What do you mean?" Victoire asked.

"You two are all mushy," Molly said.

"What did you expect?" Victoire asked, "Personally, I don't really see much of a change."

"Well, now there's kissing along with the stupidly sweet statements," Molly said, "It's going to take a while to get used to it."

"You will eventually," Victoire said, "Now, what do you say that we get Lils and head downstairs? Actually, Molls, what are _you_ doing here? I thought you lot weren't coming until dinner."

"Oh, everyone else isn't," Molly said, "I decided to come by now, my parents are driving me mad."

"What happened?" Victoire asked, getting out of bed and putting on her slippers and dressing gown.

Molly began to speak as she led her cousin out of the room. "They're fighting with Lucy right now."

"Why?" Victoire asked.

"Because she has a 'boyfriend,'" Molly said, making air quotes, "I tried to tell them that she's only thirteen and that they're not going to do anything except hold hands and kiss each other on the cheek, but of course Dad won't listen to me, since she's still a baby to him, and Mum is trying to convince him that it's going to be perfectly fine, but he won't listen to her either, so they're arguing about how he never listens to her, and he's arguing with Luce about how she shouldn't be dating anyone, and he's mad at me because I backed Mum up, so the whole thing is just… Let's just say that Christmas wasn't going so well, so I came over here. There's no telling what state they'll be in once they get here."

"So should I be prepared for blood?" Victoire asked, as Molly opened the door to Lily's room.

"Nope," Molly said, "Let his brothers deal with it. They're better at handling Dad than anyone, including my mum."

"That seems to be a general trend in the bunch," Victoire said, as Lily climbed out of her bed and threw herself at her cousins. "Merry Christmas, Lils. You ready to open presents?"

"Of course I am!" the eight year old said, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Let's go downstairs then, shall we?" Molly said.

Lily raced out of the room. Molly and Victoire followed her at a more sedate pace, and when they reached the living room, everyone else was already gathered there. Victoire took her seat next to Teddy, maintaining a careful distance from him. She could see him hiding a smile in her peripheral vision, and she fought to keep from smiling herself.

"Merry Christmas, everyone," she said.

"Merry Christmas," came the chorus of responses.

"Now that everyone is here, it's present time," Harry said, "Al, start passing them around, would you?"

Albus nodded and began to grab boxes from underneath the massive tree. Fifteen minutes later, five Weasleys, a Lupin, and five Potters had a large pile of presents in front of them. Molly had already opened hers, and she was sitting on the couch watching.

"On the count of three," Ginny said, grinning, "One, two, three, OPEN."

Wrapping paper began to fly around the room as everyone began to open their gifts. Victoire opened her parents' gift first, smiling widely at the sight of the broom. "Mum, Dad, this is exactly what I needed!"

"Well, your old broom was getting a bit old, as was yours, Dom," Bill said, "Make us proud with those, they did cost a small fortune."

"Will do," Victoire said, setting her new Firebolt aside with reverence. She opened Dom's present next, finding a new jumper, and then the gift Louis had given her, which turned out to be a new pair of Quidditch gloves. The rest of her gifts were similar items, and eventually, Teddy's was the only one left. She opened it slowly, gaping slightly at the necklace, which had a small wolf charm dangling from it.

"Vic, that's beautiful," Molly said quietly.

"It really is," Victoire said. She shut the velvet-covered box and set it aside, mouthing "Later" to Teddy when he looked at her. He nodded.

Once everyone had finished opening their gifts, Ginny led them all into the massive dining room for Christmas breakfast.

"So, Vic, have you started to get ready for your O.W.L.s?" Ginny asked, winking at her.

Victoire shook her head. "I will soon, but you know, Aunt Hermione still needs to give me that study plan and all of that."

"Please don't start with N.E.W.T.s," Teddy said, as Ginny looked at him, "Sam and I started three weeks ago."

"I haven't seen you study once," Victoire said.

"Neither have I," Molly said.

"We just do it when you two aren't around," Teddy said, "You lot can be terribly distracting, I hope you know that."

Victoire and Molly exchanged a glance, both completely aware of the double meaning behind his statement.

Victoire took a bite of a piece of bacon, chewed, and swallowed. She grinned at Teddy. "Oh, definitely."

He wadded up his napkin and threw it at her. She threw it back, laughing when Ginny leveled her gaze on the pair of them.

"Hey, no food fights, please," Ginny said, "I'd like to keep this breakfast as neat as possible, to save me a bit of work. And Teddy, if you do _anything_ stupid, you'll be the one cleaning it, do you understand me?"

"Yes ma'am," Teddy said, flushing.

"You're seventeen and she still terrifies you," Victoire said, "I love it."

"Well, wouldn't she scare you?" Harry asked, "She still scares me, and I've known her for over twenty years."

"I'm supposed to scare you," Ginny said, "You're my husband."

"That's how it works, Harry," Bill said.

"Leesten to Bill, 'Arry," Fleur said, smiling.

"They can be a bit dim sometimes," Ginny said, grinning at Victoire, "They fail to understand that the woman always holds the power in the relationship. They can go ahead and try to convince themselves otherwise as much as they want to, but deep down they know the truth."

"Let's not push it," Teddy said.

"Oh, that's pushing it, is it?" Victoire asked.

"Teddy, I wouldn't go down that road with her," Molly said, "Or any of the Weasley or Potter women, for that matter."

"Lil's going to be one heartbreaker when she gets older," Teddy said.

"What?" Lily asked, looking up from her pancakes.

The rest of the family exchanged glances and began to laugh.

Lily's eyes widened. "No, really, what?"

"Don't worry about it, Lils," Dom said, grinning, "You'll find out eventually."

"Or rather, everyone else will find out and she'll be completely oblivious to it," Bill said, "It tends to happen that way."

"He's got a point," Harry said, looking at Ginny, "You should know all about that, shouldn't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, nothing," Harry said.

"Harry James Potter, don't '_oh, nothing' _me."

Teddy snickered as Harry began to attempt to stave off his wife. "He always manages to back himself into a corner, he does."

"I'll say," Victoire said, "I swear, almost every time we see them, he manages to say something stupid."

"Just goes to show that nothing is perfect, I guess," Molly said, "But then again, who's to say that's not their idea of perfect?"

"No one," Victoire said.

"Precisely," Molly said, "Now, Vic, when are you going to tell Dom about the… You know."

"Soon," Victoire said, "Once we're back at school. We'll deal with it until then. Now, we should really stop talking about it."

"Stop talking about what?"

Victoire looked over at Louis. "Nothing, Lou. Really."

"It's nothing important," Molly said, "Girl things."

Louis made a face. "Gross."

"Exactly," Victoire said, "So, how have things been at home?"

"Boring," Louis said.

"He spends most of his time here with Al," Ginny said, joining the conversation, "They keep each other sane with the rest of you gone."

"How's Lily been?" Victoire asked.

"Just fine," Ginny said, "She goes to see Hugo and Rose a couple of times a week. She's been reading a lot, and Hermione's been feeding her books, almost as though she doesn't have an entire library to choose from here."

"Aunt Hermione always does that though," Victoire said, shrugging, "She used to do it for me too. I mean, I didn't have a library in my house, but I certainly had plenty of books. She just likes to do it."

"That's one thing that definitely hasn't changed," Ginny said, "She's always been a book person."

"I'll say," Harry said, "Remember when we were at school?"

"She was never too far from a book," Ginny said, "Even when the lot of you were off running around the British countryside."

"That's Hermione for you," Harry said. He looked at Teddy. "Any word from your grandmother?"

Teddy nodded. "She left me a note with my gift, she went to see Granddad's younger sister and her family. She also mentioned something about Narcissa, but it was rather vague, so I'm not really sure what that was about."

"How's she doing now that the old git died?" Bill asked, looking at Harry.

Harry shrugged. "No idea. It's not really my place to ask, anyway. I only see Draco when he's in the office to drop something off, so I don't talk to him often."

"Well, it's not like the two of you will ever really be friends," Ginny said, "Amicable, sure, but friends… Not really."

"I have no quarrel with him," Harry said, "He grew up. That's all I could ever ask of him. His son will be in Al and Rose's year."

"Ron's going to have a field day with that," Bill said.

"Remind me to restrain him when we take Al to the train that day," Ginny said, "Or at least, remind me to keep my wand trained on him at all times. I love him, but he still hasn't lost the tendency to be a bit rash."

"I doubt that he ever will," Harry said, "He's a Weasley, after all."

Everyone else at the table laughed at that, and the conversation turned to lighter things.

After breakfast, Victoire and Teddy slipped into the library, after making Molly swear that she'd steer everyone away from the massive room until they came back.

"So do you like it?" Teddy asked, looking apprehensively at Victoire.

"I love it," Victoire said, pulling the small box out of her pocket, "Put it on for me?"

Teddy smiled. "Of course."

He fastened the thin chain around her neck and stepped away. She reached up and felt the tiny wolf charm. "How does it look?"

"Perfect," Teddy said, "As expected."

She rolled her eyes. "You're so full of it."

"And yet you agreed to date me," Teddy said, "What does that say about you?"

"Too much."

He reached out and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to him. "Well, I certainly think it says enough."

"You never really wished me Merry Christmas for real, you know."

He smiled. "Oh, I didn't?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

"I'll just have to fix that then, huh?"

He kissed her gently, and she smiled as they split apart.

"Fixed it."

He grinned. "Good."

They spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon with Molly and Dom. The former grew more and more restless as dinner came closer, and when her family arrived, Molly went into the kitchen to help her grandmother and Ginny with dinner.

"Poor thing," Audrey said, watching her daughter retreat into the kitchen.

"She was telling us about what happened this morning," Victoire said, "I can't say I blame her for wanting to avoid Uncle Percy."

"He is being a bit ridiculous about this whole thing, that much is definitely true," Audrey said. She sighed. "Lucy's getting older, and he doesn't want to admit it. In his head, she's still his little girl. I've tried to tell him that she's got to grow up at some point, but he's having some difficulty admitting it to himself."

"He'll have to get used to it at some point," Dom said, "It's not like Luce is going to swear off dating until she's out of the house, and if he thinks that she's going to do that, he's kidding himself. Uncle Percy is smart, but sometimes he can be really dense."

"Don't I know it," Audrey said, "I'm just hoping that Lucy will be able to move past this before she goes back to school, because I don't want her to go the rest of the year without writing to her dad at least once."

"She'll get over it," Dom said, "They'll both get over it."

"They do have the Weasley temper, you do have to remember that," Victoire said.

"Don't we all though?" Dom asked.

"Not Aunt Audrey, or Teddy, or anyone who's not at least part Weasley," Victoire said.

"I swear Harry has it," Hermione said, joining the conversation. "Our fifth year… Although I suppose we shouldn't blame him for it, we did deserve it a bit."

"He's practically a Weasley anyway," Ron said, "He spent so much time with us during school, he became yet another one of the family members."

"There's a million of us, I swear," Victoire said.

"Not quite," Audrey said, laughing, "But pretty darn close."

"Give it fifty years and every Wizarding family in existence will have a child married to a Weasley," Ron said.

"It'll be a bit more than fifty, Ronald," Hermione said, "But yes, something like that."

"When are we going to have a Lupin and Weasley wedding?" Audrey asked, raising her eyebrows at Victoire.

Victoire flushed. "What?"

Hermione chuckled. "Oh, leave the poor girl alone, Audrey. They're friends. If anything happens, it's their business, not ours."

"Thank you," Victoire said, exhaling.

"Anytime, Vic," Hermione said, "Also, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you too," Victoire said, "How are Rose and Hugo doing?"

"Fairly well," Hermione said, "They've had plenty of visits from Lily, so they could be a lot worse. Rose is studying for school already, even though I've tried to tell that the earliest that she should start is the summer before her first year, but she told me that she wants to be as far ahead as possible before she goes to school."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Ron said.

"Oh, shut it, Ronald."

Audrey laughed. "At least you're not Percy. I love him, I really do, but he's driving Lucy and Molly a bit mad with all of his suggestions about what they should be doing with their time. I've tried to tell him that they'll get what they get and we should be happy either way, but he doesn't really seem to be inclined to listen to me."

Ron shook his head. "He's always been like that, the prat."

"Daddy!"

Ron looked down at Rose, who was tugging on his shirt impatiently. "Yes, Rosie?"

"When's Uncle George going to get here?"

"Already here."

Victoire turned around to see George grinning at her. "Hey, Uncle George."

"Hey Vic," he said, before kneeling down and smiling wickedly at Rose, "How are you, Rosie?"

The nine-year-old made a face. "I'm bored."

"We'll just have to fix that then, won't we?" George asked, "Come with me, I brought some things to give to you little rascals."

Rose's face lit up, and she followed her uncle out of the room. Hermione shook her head.

"He just has to corrupt all of them, doesn't he?"

Victoire laughed. "Well, look at it this way: Your children are being corrupted. Teddy was just born that way."

Teddy looked over from where he was talking to Al. "What way was I born?"

"Don't worry about it, Lupin," Victoire said.

Ron laughed. "His dad was a Marauder, it figures."

"Wasn't he the responsible one though?" Hermione asked.

"'Mione, when it comes to the Marauders, responsible only goes so far," Ron said, "Haven't you heard the stories that McGonagall's told about them? They were a mental lot, they were."

"I suppose Harry had to get it somewhere," Hermione said, chuckling, "Although, with a mum like his, you'd think it would cancel out."

"Sometimes rationality doesn't cancel insanity," Audrey said, "Let's hope Rosie takes after her mum then, huh?"

Hermione laughed at Ron's shocked expression. "No offense meant, but I agree with Audrey."

Victoire smiled. "Let's hope she gets a good mix. Responsibility with room for fun."

"I like Vic's idea," Ron said.

"She's usually right about things like that," Dom said, "We're still missing Uncle Charlie and Lianna, aren't we?"

"Let's see," Ron said, ticking off names on his fingers, "We've got me, Ginny, Bill, George, Percy… That would be correct. He's the only one who isn't here yet."

"Lexa and Monica should be dropping by at some point as well," Victoire said, "They wanted to see me today, but they probably won't be here until after dinner."

"I'd assume, anyway," Dom said, "Seeing as they should be with their families right about now."

Victoire shrugged. "They never specified, so I'm just assuming that it will be after dinner. I could be wrong though, those two can be unpredictable."

"Who, Lex and Monica?" Teddy asked, walking over and joining them, "I'd hazard a guess that they're going to turn up for dessert."

Dom laughed. "He's probably right."

Dinner was done a while later, and everyone sat down to eat in the massive formal dining room, though the atmosphere was anything but. Halfway through the meal, Bill looked over at Victoire.

"When are we going to meet your boyfriend?"

Victoire almost choked on the turkey she was chewing. She swallowed hurriedly and looked at him. "Um… Jake and I broke up the day that we came home."

"What?" Fleur asked. "Why?"

Victoire shrugged. "We agreed we were better off as friends, that's all."

Molly snickered. Victoire glared at her cousin, who looked down at her food with a small smile on her face.

"Oh, shut up," Victoire said.

"I didn't say anything, did I?" Molly asked, raising her eyebrows.

"You were thinking it."

"What, you can do Occlumency now?" Molly asked.

Victoire rolled her eyes. "Okay, _now_ you can shut up."

Teddy laughed. "Molls, you have to remember that Tori and I have plenty of information on you and it wouldn't do to anger either of us."

"Like you'd do that," Molly said, "You promised, remember?"

"At least our girls won't have any distractions while studying for their O.W.L.s," Percy said, looking at Bill, "Seeing as they don't have boyfriends. Although Quidditch could be a problem for Victoire."

"I'm sure they'll manage just fine, boyfriends or not," Bill said, winking at Victoire, "They're both perfectly capable young ladies, they don't need their old fathers to tell them what they should and shouldn't do. That goes for everyone in this family, really."

"So Fred and I are capable young ladies?" James asked.

He high-fived his laughing cousin, who was sitting next to him. Roxy rolled her eyes. "As if, you two."

"If that's what makes you happy, James, then of course you are," Ginny said, laughing, "Merlin knows we could use more of them."

Charlie chuckled. "As long as intelligent and brave fall under capable, then Ginny's right."

"Don't worry, Charlie, you're certainly intelligent and brave," Lianna said, grinning.

Charlie fanned himself with his hand, pretending to swoon. "Aren't I just _beautiful?"_

The rest of the family laughed at that, as Molly and Victoire exchanged nervous looks. After dinner, Molly pulled Victoire aside as everyone else traipsed into the living room.

"This is so awkward."

Victoire nodded. "Tell me about it. It was difficult figuring out how to not lie to my dad while also not telling the truth."

"My dad is going to go bloody mental when he finds out about…" Molly trailed off, "You know. Vic, he's going to kill me."

"But he likes your… You know," Victoire said, "I doubt he'll mind so much. At least you went for highly intelligent, skilled, and relatively responsible."

"Well, your dad will never bad-mouth your choice," Molly said, "I mean, think about it. Brilliant, amazing at Quidditch, highly responsible except for a couple of pranks here and there, and completely, one hundred percent in love with you."

"But it's like I said last night," Victoire said, "It's different when they're more than… When they're in their current capacity. It doesn't matter how much Dad likes things as he thinks they are now, he could do a complete turnaround on what they actually are."

"I don't think he will," Molly said, "My dad, sure, but yours? He's so level-headed, I doubt he'd ever get mad about it."

"I guess," Victoire said, shrugging, "We should probably get in there before everyone starts wondering what happened to us."

"You're probably right," Molly said.

They joined the rest of the family. Alexa and Monica dropped by halfway through dessert, as Teddy had predicted, and they left just before everyone else.

Teddy and Victoire retreated up to her room before it was time for her to leave.

"So you're coming on the thirtieth, right?" Teddy asked, "And staying until the second?"

Victoire nodded. "Yeah, and then I'll see you in the morning on the third to go back to school."

Teddy smiled. "Alright."

He embraced her and kissed her gently. She smiled when he released her.

"You'd better write me, you prat."

"As if we can go four days without talking," he said, "We've never gone more than two since we were little."

"I know," Victoire said, "But still."

He nodded, grinning. "Of course I will." He kissed her once more. "You should probably head down to your family."

"Probably," she said, "I love you, Teddy Lupin."

"I love you too, Victoire Weasley. I meant it all those other times and I mean it now."

"Good."

The last thing she saw before she Flooed out of the manor ten minutes later was Teddy's smiling face.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it took me until so late to post this! I had to write a lab report all afternoon, and it gave me a huge migraine, so it took me a little while to reach the point where I was capable of writing again.**

**I was listening to McFly pretty much the entire time that I was writing this chapter, because the songs Tom wrote for Giovanna are killing me slowly with cute and they fit the story pretty well (If you know anything about their music or you're familiar with All About You and you were paying attention, you probably caught my little reference to it). They're probably going to be my writing music for the next while, so don't be surprised if more references show up.**

**Things are starting to get really fluffy and I'm debating about what to throw in next, because we can't make it all fun and games for them, can we? At least, not for the next while. **

**I'm going to end up writing a sequel to this, just to let you know that now, which will be all about the summers before and after sixth year, as well as sixth year itself, and that will probably end with the whole kiss-on-the-platform thing, and I was actually thinking about writing another story after that which is set a year or two after Victoire gets out of Hogwarts, but we'll see what happens to that idea.**

**We're about halfway done with this story, and it'll probably be about 100,000-120,000 words by the time I'm done. We'll see what happens.**

**I hope you like this chapter!**

**~AC**


	13. Chapter 13

Their first day back at school was more uneventful than any of them had expected. Somehow, Victoire and Teddy had managed to keep things from the rest of the family for the week after Christmas, and their arrival back at school came with great amounts of relief for the both of them.

Victoire pushed her trunk against the foot of her bed, only to collapse on top of her mattress with a sigh, "I'm glad that's over."

"Moving back in here after two weeks at home is always an adventure," Monica said.

Alexa groaned, "I'll say."

Molly rolled her eyes, "You lot are such weaklings. You can do something called magic, you know."

"But that takes all the fun out of it," Monica said, "It wouldn't be moving back in if we didn't do everything by hand."

"I guess," Molly said, dropping back onto her bed and staring at the ceiling.

Victoire looked at Molly, "Should I tell them?"

Molly shrugged, "I don't know, Vic, you said you were going to."

"Tell us what?" Alexa asked.

"Seriously, Vic, what is it?" Monica asked.

Victoire groaned, "This is too complicated. Molly, you get it, right?"

"Well, I mean, I get why it's a thing that you don't want to say anything about, but I still think you should tell them," Molly said, "They're your friends, they have a right to know."

"I guess," Victoire said, "But guys, you have to swear an oath of complete and utter secrecy, okay?"

Monica and Alexa looked at each other and nodded. "We swear," they chorused.

Victoire sat up and looked at Molly, who gave her a reassuring smile, before taking a deep breath, "TeddyandIaredating."

"What?" Alexa asked, "Slow down, Vic. I know I talk fast, but that was a bit much even for me."

Victoire swallowed, "Teddy and I are dating."

Monica's mouth dropped, "Since when?"

"Christmas," Victoire said.

Alexa held out her hand, "Pay up, Birchfield."

"Damnit, Vic," Monica said, digging into her pocket and removing a Galleon. She dropped it in Alexa's hand. "You couldn't have held out for another week?"

"You two _bet _on us?" Victoire said.

"You really shouldn't be surprised," Molly said, "They spend all that time around us, remember?"

"I guess," Victoire said, "Molls, why do we have to be such bad influences?"

"We aren't Weasleys if we don't have our moments like that," Molly said, "Uncle George and Uncle Fred would be so disappointed in us, you know that."

"So would Teddy, for that matter," Alexa said.

"Yeah, but he got it from his dad, and he was raised by Uncle Harry, who is the child of another Marauder," Victoire said, "It's only natural that he'd be that way. I'm not quite sure how we all ended up like this, or at least, how Uncle Fred and Uncle George ended up like that."

"She does have a point," Monica said, "Knowing your grandmother and grandfather, it's a bit strange that they ended up with two sons who could give any prankster a run for their money."

Molly shrugged, "It's the way of the Weasleys to produce the strangest children in existence. I wouldn't question it too much. Your head will explode."

Victoire laughed, "Yeah, sounds about right."

"Well," Alexa said, after a moment's silence, "That's three of us off. Mon, anything you want to tell us?"

Monica threw a pillow at Alexa, "Oh, shut up, you know nothing is happening right now."

"So?" Alexa said, "It could very well happen soon."

"There isn't even anyone I'd be interested in," Monica said.

"Nick?" Victoire asked.

Monica made a face, "I mean, I really do like him a lot, but I don't think he's really looking to date anyone right now and I'm really not in the mood to try to change his mind. It's a bit more work than I'd like, what with O.W.L.s coming up and all of that. You lot are lucky, you all have boyfriends that have taken them already who can help you study." A mischievous grin crept onto her face. "Not that you'll really be doing all that much studying, but…"

"MON!"

Monica laughed at her three friends, "Kidding, guys, kidding."

"Just remember," Victoire said, "And this applies to Molly's situation as well. There's more than just the four of us in this dormitory, and you have to be absolutely sure that there's no one but else here before you breathe a word of any of this."

"Especially yours," Molly said, "They don't care about Sam quite as much, but Teddy's a bit of a catch, as far as they're concerned, and it wouldn't do to get them riled up to the point of wanting to do Vic in, would it girls?"

"Not that they could," Alexa said, "But we don't want them to have a chance to try either. We understand."

"We definitely do," Monica said.

"Good," Victoire said, "I really don't feel like dying right now, you know?"

"Oh, we know," Monica said, "You still have to get married to Teddy, have kids with Teddy, spend the rest of your life with Teddy…"

Victoire's mouth dropped, "Monica!"

Alexa chuckled, "She has a point."

"You have absolutely no way of knowing if I'm actually going to do any of those things with him," Victoire said, "Besides, isn't it a bit early to be thinking about any of those things? I'm just concerned about getting through my O.W.L.s."

"We should leave her alone," Molly said, "She is right, there's no way of guaranteeing that any of us will end up with person that we date in school."

Monica rolled her eyes, "Me, maybe not, but you lot? You definitely will."

"You never know," Victoire said.

"Please, Vic, we all know that you're going to end up with Teddy," Alexa said, "Everyone's known it for the past forever. They're all just waiting for you to admit that you're dating, and then they'll start making bets on how soon the wedding will happen. Coincidentally, ten Galleons that it'll be within five years of Vic graduating."

"Done," Monica said, "Any later and I win."

"Twenty that they'll have a kid by the time Vic's twenty-five," Molly said.

"Done," Alexa said.

"Done," Monica said.

Victoire sighed, "You're all serious about this, aren't you?"

Her friends' mouths' dropped, "Could we be anything else?" they chorused.

"Unbelievable," Victoire said.

"Well, what did you expect?" Alexa asked, "We know you two, and neither of you are going anywhere, not unless something else happens."

"I hope you're right," Victoire said, "Otherwise I'm in for a bit of a sad life. And before you lot get any ideas, I'm saying that because he's my best mate, not because he's my boyfriend. I haven't gone a day without knowing Teddy. Not having him around would be awful."

Alexa nodded, "Understandable."

The sound of the door opening made the four girls look up.

"Oh, you're here," Ruby said, her eyes narrowing.

"Well, we do live here," Monica said.

"Unfortunately," Jade said.

"I'm afraid there's nothing you can really do about it," Alexa said, "I'm sorry."

"Except I'm really not," Molly said, "We've been sharing a dormitory since first year. Why do you two dislike us so much?"

"Because it's not fair," Ruby said.

"What do you mean?" Monica asked.

"You lot get all of the attention from Sam and Teddy," Ruby said, dropping her trunk by her bed and walking to the door. "I'm going somewhere else. Come on, Jade."

"Let's go to lunch, you lot," Molly said, leading Alexa and Monica past Ruby, "You coming, Vic?"

"In a minute," Victoire said. Molly nodded, and the three girls left the room.

"Whatever," Ruby said, "Jade?"

"Go down to the common room without me," Jade said, "I need to unpack a couple of things."

"Fine," Ruby said. She stalked out of the room. Jade began to hastily unpack her trunk.

"Jade?" Victoire's voice was quiet.

"What?" Jade asked.

Victoire exhaled slowly, "I just wanted to let you know that you have other options."

"And that means…"

"I know you'll probably still hate me anyway, but there are other boys that like you," Victoire said, "Jake said he used to think you were really nice."

"Aren't you two dating?" Jade asked.

Victoire shook her head, "We broke up the day before the holidays. He didn't talk about you with any sort of disdain or anything."

"I don't want your seconds, thanks," Jade said.

"It was mutual," Victoire said, "I'm not saying that you should think about it because it makes me feel superior. I'm saying it because I think that you could be really nice if you weren't under Ruby's shadow all the time, and Jake's a nice boy. He just wasn't the right one for me. And you might be happier if you're not pining over two boys who could become unavailable at any moment."

Jade cocked her head, eyeing Victoire strangely. After a moment, she spoke, "Thanks. I think."

"Anytime," Victoire said, "And if you ever want to spend time with someone other than Ruby, you're welcome to come and hang out with us for a while. Just don't stare after Sam and Teddy the whole time, and they'll be okay with the whole thing."

"What about Monica and Molly and Alexa?" Jade asked.

Victoire shrugged, "They'll get over it if you show them that you're not Ruby's minion."

"Alright," Jade said, "I might take you up on that sometime."

"You're welcome to," Victoire said, "I should really go, but you can come if you want."

"Let's go for a less public place the first time I do anything with you lot, if I do," Jade said. She cracked a small smile, her green eyes softening for the first time since Victoire had met her. "You're not so bad, Victoire."

"Neither are you, Jade," Victoire said, "See you, I suppose."

"Yeah," Jade said.

Victoire smiled and gave her a small wave before walking out of the dormitory and down to the common room. Monica, Alexa, and Molly stood by the portrait hole.

"What was that about?" Molly asked.

"I don't think Jade's so bad," Victoire said.

Monica's mouth dropped, "Did you just say what I think you just said?"

"I just think we should give her a chance is all," Victoire said, "She's under Ruby's thumb a lot of the time, I think she might be different if she's on her own."

"Fat chance of that ever happening," Monica said.

"I dunno," Alexa said, "Vic might be right. But let's not dwell on it. I'm hungry. Let's eat."

Molly laughed, "Sounds good to me. Come on, you lot."

They exited the common room and started downstairs, taking a shortcut that Teddy had shown them their first year. The aforementioned boy caught up with them halfway down the passageway, and he slipped his arm around Victoire and dropped a kiss on her head.

"Hey Tori," he said, "Hey guys."

Alexa grinned, "Hi there, Lupin."

"I take it you told them?" Teddy asked.

Victoire nodded, "Just a little while ago, actually."

"Well, that's good," Teddy said, "Want to go for a walk after lunch?"

"Teddy, it's freezing outside," Victoire said.

He rolled his eyes, "Alright, fine. My dormitory, then?"

"What about Serenity?" Monica asked, "Are you going to tell her?"

"We haven't decided," Victoire said, "Are we, Teddy?"

"I mean, I don't think she'll say anything," Teddy said, "I think we can. She likes you, she won't mind."

"And it would be nice to be able to spend time with you somewhere that we know we won't be interrupted by someone who doesn't know," Victoire said, "Alright. We can tell her."

"After lunch, then?" Teddy asked.

"Sure," Victoire said.

Monica shook her head, "So many couples, and then there's me."

"We'll set you up with someone," Alexa said, "No worries, Mon. There's plenty of guys for you."

"Nick mentioned that he wants to spend time with you," Teddy said, "I think you'll be fine."

Victoire grinned, "So much for he's not looking for anyone to date, Mon. Maybe he's not looking because he already found someone."

"Give him a shot," Teddy said, shrugging, "It would keep it in the group, which would be nice."

"And beyond that," Molly said, "We know him, we know he's nice, we'd know how to kill him if he hurt you at all…"

"I don't know," Monica said, "I just kind of feel like I'll be screwing up any chance of a long-term relationship with someone if I date them right now. I'm just kind of in the mood to have a no-strings-attached kind of relationship, where it won't make things weird if I stop dating them or whatever."

"There's always Matt or Kevin," Victoire said, "They're both single and they're nice. Kevin especially."

"Do I need to worry about competition?" Teddy asked.

Victoire chuckled, "Not at all."

"Good."

The five friends headed down to lunch, and afterward, Victoire and Teddy went up to the Head's dormitory.

"You really think Serenity won't mind?" Teddy asked.

Victoire shrugged, "Teddy, you live with her, shouldn't _I_be asking _you_ that question? From what I've seen, she'll be perfectly reasonable about it. I don't think we really need to worry about her."

"I hope you're right," Teddy said.

"I'm right about a lot of things, remember that," Victoire said, "It'll be fine."

"Well, she's not here right now anyway so I guess we don't really need to worry about it," Teddy said.

"I'd say that's probably right," Victoire said.

Teddy grinned and sat down on the couch, patting the spot beside him. Victoire took it, and he wrapped his arm around her loosely. They sat in silence for a while.

Eventually, Teddy broke it, "So how long do you want to keep this a secret?"

"I don't know," Victoire said, "We've barely been together for more than a week, Teddy, it's not like anything's really changed since day one. I really don't want us to fight about this."

"We won't, I just don't like having to pretend that this is something that doesn't exist," Teddy said.

Victoire sighed, "It's like everyone has said- it's not like we really act any different. You just can't kiss me in public, that's all. I don't think anything's really changed all that much, but I could be wrong."

"I don't think you are," Teddy said.

"Let's not worry about it right now, alright?" Victoire said, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now I just want to enjoy this."

Teddy nodded, "You're probably right."

By the time Serenity arrived, Victoire and Teddy had retreated to either side of the coffee table that was sitting in the middle of the room. Victoire threw down a card and looked up at the Head Girl.

"Hey Serenity."

The Ravenclaw smiled, "Hey there, Vic. Long time, no see."

"I've been a bit busy," Victoire said.

Teddy threw down a card of his own, "Oh yeah, so much."

"Shut up," Victoire said, pretending to glare at him, "How are things for you?"

"Alright," Serenity said, "Things have been pretty quiet, thankfully, but you'd know that anyway. There's been a bit of a mess with Professor McGonagall and your uncles though."

"Why?" Victoire asked.

"The Auror academy sent over a trainee, and I guess they're not her biggest fans," Serenity said, "She's supposed to start teaching a couple classes. Only first and second years, but Harry told Professor McGonagall that it's complete and utterly insane to expect someone who's only a year out of school to instruct kids who are new to magic. She brought up the DA, I guess, and he told her that the circumstances were entirely different because they didn't have a competent teacher available to teach them."

"Well, he has a point," Teddy said, "It's not like they had a reliable person instructing them when they stated the DA, and it's not like they didn't have a serious need for a good teacher. Why have someone try and get teaching experience by teaching alone? I can understand having them be an assistant, but having them be the actual teacher just doesn't make sense to me…"

"Who is it, anyway?" Victoire asked.

Serenity made a face, "I'm not one to talk badly about anyone, but I'm really not too fond of their choice either. Do you remember Gianna Simmons, Vic? I know _you_ do, Teddy."

Victoire's eyes narrowed, "_She_ is going to be here regularly?"

"It'll be fine, Tori," Teddy said.

"I'm not so sure about that," Victoire said, "You saw how she was at Christmas."

"Yeah, I don't get it," Teddy said, "She said Harry didn't care if she stayed, so why would he be kicking up such a fuss about this?"

"She could have easily been lying," Victoire said, "You know how he is. He really doesn't like getting into arguments, especially with a lot of people around, and I think he'd rather that she stayed than have to fight with her about it and make everyone uncomfortable on Christmas Eve."

"I guess," Teddy said, "Still."

"Why are you worried about it?" Serenity asked, "I didn't get the impression that you two really knew each other."

"Oh, we don't," Victoire said, "And I'd like to keep it that way."

"Then why the problem?" Serenity asked.

"She treats me like a child, and she still has a thing for Teddy," Victoire said, "She was kind of rude to me at Christmas. Well, not kind of, extremely."

"Why?" Serenity asked, "You're great, Vic, I don't know why she'd dislike you."

"Should we tell her?" Victoire asked, looking at Teddy.

"You said you thought it'd be fine," Teddy said, shrugging.

"You are sworn to secrecy about what I'm going to tell you," Victoire said, locking gazes with Serenity. The other girl nodded. Victoire took a deep breath, "Teddy and I are dating."

Serenity smiled, "Aw, finally!"

Victoire groaned, "Has _everyone_ been waiting for this?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Serenity said, "Sorry, Vic."

"Eh," Victoire said, rolling her eyes, "The problem with Gianna is she still has a thing for Teddy, and she's not going to back off from him, especially since we're not publicly admitting that we're dating."

"Why not?" Serenity asked, "Everyone knew it was coming."

"We don't want it to be awkward if we break up," Teddy said, "Seeing as I practically live with Harry and everything. It would be weird for the family, and we don't want to put ourselves through that, let alone them."

"Understandable," Serenity said, "It would be a bit odd."

"More than a bit," Victoire said, "We just want to keep things as low-key as possible for a while, which is why we're not telling many people."

"Well, thanks for trusting me with this," Serenity said, "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"I certainly hope so," Victoire said.

Of course, given that it was Victoire's life, things going just fine wasn't something that was going to happen.

She went down to breakfast with Teddy on Monday morning, and they entered the Great Hall laughing loudly about something that Sam had told Teddy.

"You can't be serious," Victoire said, gasping for breath, "She actually did that?"

"Apparently," Teddy said, grinning, "I didn't realize that anyone was that obsessed with him, but apparently I was wrong."

"I wonder if Molls knows," Victoire said.

"Who knows," Teddy said, "Because I have absolutely no idea, if I'm being completely honest with you right now."

"I'd hope that you're completely honest with me all the time," Victoire said, smiling at him.

"I try to be," Teddy said.

They sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table across from Sam and Molly.

"Hey guys," Victoire said, reaching for the pumpkin juice, "How goes it?"

"Fine," Molly said, "You?"

"Good so far," Teddy said.

"Practice after school today, you two remember that, right?" Sam asked.

"It's unbelievably cold, but yeah, we remember," Victoire said.

"You're a witch, Vic," Sam said, "There's something called a warming charm."

"I know, but still," Victoire said, biting into a piece of toast.

"We need to be ready to crush Ravenclaw into the ground," Sam said, "Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with them, but on the Quidditch pitch…"

"Let's face it, Sam, on the Quidditch pitch you have a problem with everyone who isn't on your team," Teddy said.

"He kind of has a point," Victoire said, "You do get a bit snappy whenever we get out there."

"Well, someone has to," Sam said.

"You just need to be careful about how bad it gets," Molly said, "But I'm sure you lot will win, you've been working really hard this year."

"Well, thankfully Ravenclaw pummeled Slytherin, so we don't have to play that bunch during the final, but it could mean we're up against Hufflepuff, and I really, really, REALLY don't want to have to deal with that lot," Sam said, "They've been doing really well this year and we might actually have a challenge on our hands if we end up having to play against them."

"It'll be fine," Teddy said, "Vic, Lex, and I have been working really hard and our combinations are spot-on. A little more practice and we'll be unstoppable."

Victoire opened her mouth to respond, only to be cut off.

"Well, look who we have here!"

Victoire turned to see Gianna standing there, hands on her hips. Under the table, Teddy squeezed Victoire's hand reassuringly, and she kept her fingers laced with his as she looked at Gianna.

"Nice to see you again," Victoire said, smiling thinly, "We just heard yesterday that you're going to be helping my uncles out."

"And teaching a bit," Gianna said, "Possibly helping to coach the Gryffindor Quidditch team as well."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Yeah right. That's my job, and anyway, you weren't on the team."

"No, but Andy was, and I learned a lot from him," Gianna said.

"Still not going to happen," Sam said, spearing a couple of sausages with his fork.

"Come on, Sammy, you know you wouldn't really mind," Gianna said, smiling threateningly at him.

Sam shrugged, "I'm sure I'll survive without your help."

"We all will," Teddy muttered.

"What was that, Teddy?" Gianna asked.

"I said we all will," Teddy said, "As in, you know, we'll all survive without your help."

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Gianna asked.

"Not really, no," Teddy said.

Victoire finished her toast and stood, "I'm going to go get my bag, I'll see you lot later. Hang out tonight, Teddy?"

Teddy nodded, "I'll meet you at my dormitory at nine."

"Sounds good," Victoire said, "See you, Molls, Sam."

The other two waved at her before continuing their whispered conversation and glaring at Gianna. Victoire shook her head and left the Great Hall. As she was walking down the third floor corridor to the staircase that would take her directly outside of Gryffindor Tower, there was a hand on her shoulder. She stopped and turned, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows when she saw who it was.

"What?"

Gianna's eyes narrowed, "Don't play games with me, you little brat. I almost had you out of Teddy's life the first time, and I'll get you out all the way this time. You have no place with him."

"And you do?" Victoire asked, "I hate to break it to you, Gianna, but Teddy moved on from you a long time ago, and in case you didn't notice, he really wasn't all that pleased to see you."

"Why, did you go crying to him after Christmas?" Gianna asked.

"No," Victoire said, "He actually came to me, so there you go. If you want to keep your job, I suggest you watch your step. You need to remember who my uncle and Teddy's godfather is, because he'll get rid of you quick as can be if you hurt either one of us, especially Teddy. You're not the queen, Gianna, and Teddy's not going to be your king either. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get to class."

Without waiting for another word from Gianna, Victoire continued down the corridor and up the stairs.

By the time the end of the day rolled around, Victoire was seething. She entered the dormitory and threw her bag on her bed with a groan.

"What's up?" Alexa asked, pulling on a jumper, "Everything alright?"

"I am going to kill Gianna Simmons," Victoire said, pulling off her skirt and slipping on a pair of sweatpants, "I am going to _kill_ her."

"Why?" Alexa asked.

Victoire tugged a t-shirt on over her camisole, throwing her button-down on the bed, "She's after Teddy. Again."

"I'm sorry, Vic," Alexa said, "She won't succeed, you do know that right? Teddy is completely and one hundred percent in love with you, and he's nowhere near stupid enough to let Gianna Simmons break the two of you up. He's been in love with you since forever. You're going to be fine."

"If I could pay people to stop telling me that, I would," Victoire said, "First it was hiding it from my family, and now we have to worry about this too. She's baiting me and trying to get me to snap, and I really don't want to, because I don't want the rest of the family to find out."

"When do you think you'll tell your parents?" Alexa asked, "This summer, or…"

Victoire shrugged, "I honestly don't know. Teddy mentioned something after New Year's about getting his own place once the year is over, and I don't want my parents to suddenly start enforcing a curfew just because I'm going to my boyfriend's house instead of my best friend's, you know?"

"It makes sense," Alexa said, "I'm sure you'll work it out, Vic, it's not like your parents hate him or anything."

"I know, but like I told him, him being my best friend and him being my boyfriend are two very different things in the eyes of my parents," Victoire said.

"If they're anything like the rest of your family, or friends, or the entire school, they'll have been making bets about when you two would get together since Teddy turned ten," Alexa said, "I doubt they'll be very surprised."

"I dunno," Victoire said, "Shall we head down?"

Alexa pulled on her coat, hat, scarf, and gloves, before nodding, "Let's."

They sprinted through the snowy grounds and down to the pitch. Half the team was already in the locker room, and Victoire bumped her hip against Teddy's as she passed him. He grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes.

Within fifteen minutes, everyone else had arrived and suited up, and they ran drills until the sky began to darken. Sam gathered them all in the locker room once they were finished.

"We've been looking great, guys, and I have every confidence that we can win the Cup this year. There have been some rocky starts for some of us, but I think we're really starting to come together as a team, and I know that the lot of you will make Teddy and me proud once we've graduated. This has been a really great year for me so far, and I'm proud to be spending my seventh year playing with you."

Alexa and Victoire grinned before chorusing, "Awww, Sammy!"

"Although _some_ of you live to piss off your captain," Sam said, mock-glaring at the two girls, "I've really enjoyed working with all of you, and I'll miss the team next year."

"Any word from Puddlemere?" Dom asked.

Sam shook his head. "I should be hearing soon though."

"Liam, have any insider information?" Teddy asked.

The sixth-year shook his head. "I keep asking Dad every time I write, but he just tells me his lips and pen are sealed."

"He'll get on."

Victoire looked at Jake, who was standing there with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"He's a good player, he's headed the team really well, and they're always looking for new talent," Jake said, "I don't think there's too much to worry about."

"I certainly hope you're right," Sam said, "Well, anyway, great practice everyone, I can't wait for the match. Try not to die between now and then."

"Aye-aye, captain," Victoire, Alexa, and Teddy said.

Sam rolled his eyes, "See you lot later. Try and eat a decent meal tonight, okay?"

Jake left after that. The rest of the team headed up to the Great Hall soon after him, laughing and joking with one another. Victoire fell into step with Dom.

"Hey," Dom said, "How are things?"

"Good," Victoire said, "You doing alright?"

"Fine," Dom said, "I'm ready for it to be warm, but besides that…"

"I think we're all ready for it to be warm," Victoire said, chuckling, "I'm not exactly a fan of having to wear seven layers in order to play Quidditch, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

"True," Dom said, "I can't wait to practice with the Harpies. Aunt Ginny told me on the platform that she managed to get me into a practice over the Easter weekend, and she cleared it with McGonagall, so I'll get in one serious one before the final."

"We need all the help we can get," Victoire said, "We're good, but there's always room for improvement."

"Always," Dom said.

They entered the Great Hall and sat down at their usual end of the table, though Dom migrated down a little bit to sit with her friends.

"Well, we made it through day one," Molly said, as the others joined her and Monica, "Points to us."

"I wish," Teddy said.

"Seriously, every house should get a point for every person that doesn't break down in tears on the first day back at school," Alexa said, "I swear I saw four Ravenclaw sixth-years crying in the fourth-floor girls' bathroom about how the essay that they wrote over the holidays was only six inches over the minimum rather than ten."

"It happens," Sam said, shrugging.

"Unfortunately," Victoire said, "I don't get it. Whatever though, it's their thing, they can get upset about it if they want to. I'm just glad to be back and away from the madness that is all of our family members in one place. It's nice for a little while, but then I just want to come back here and pretend it never happened."

"I think most of us do," Monica said, "Especially after my cousins…" She shivered, "Eugh."

Victoire laughed, "But you survived, and that's what counts."

After dinner, the girls retreated to the library to work on their homework, and at five of nine, Victoire stood up and swung her bag over her shoulder.

"I'm going to go see Teddy, see you lot later."

"Bye," the other three mumbled, continuing to work on their Transfiguration essays, which Victoire had finished the day before.

She made her way out of the library and up to the Head's dormitory. Once she muttered the password, she entered the common room to see Teddy on the couch reading a book.

"Hey Tori," he said, not looking up from it.

"Hey," she said, sitting down next to him, "Good book?"

"Great book," he said, setting it down on the table and settling his arm around her, "You alright?"

"Okay," she said, "Still a bit annoyed."

"It'll be fine," Teddy said, "And remember, you're my best mate _and_ my girlfriend. There is no one else that could claim that role. You're safe."

She sighed, "Yeah, I know."

He kissed her briefly, and when he pulled away, she was smiling slightly. He grinned, "Now, what do you say we spend the evening being together and not worrying about my awful ex-girlfriend?"

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

**A/N: Well, look who's back.**

**I really am sorry about my lack of updates, guys. I mean it. I'm slowly starting to get my life in order (Finally), and thanks to the state swimming competition, my Chemistry teacher won't be here Wednesday or Thursday, and he couldn't get a sub so we don't have class, meaning my schedule on Thursday is Math, free period, free period, free period, free period, English. I have class from 8:15-9:05 and then from 2:15-3:00, and that's it, so I figured I could spare tonight to finish the chapter and put it up for you guys since I'll have time to work at school.**

**I hope this update was satisfactory.**

**I'm off to take a shower and do some cleaning. Thank you to those who were patient with me, I really do appreciate it.**

**Peace and love, everyone.**

**~AC x**


	14. Chapter 14

The Gryffindor-Ravenclaw Quidditch match and the end of January coincided with each other perfectly.

Noon on Sunday, January thirty-first, found the Gryffindor Quidditch team piled into the locker room pulling on their robes and attempting to stay warm.

"It would be freezing on our last winter match," Alexa said, making a face and pulling on her fleece-lined Chaser gloves.

Victoire groaned, "You're telling me. Warming charms barely cut it anymore. The day that they make a pair of robes that actually keep me warm will be the day that the world falls apart."

"Now you're just being overdramatic," Teddy said, grinning at her, "You're plenty warm once you get moving."

"Well yeah, but I'm allowed to complain about how cold it is when I'm in here," Victoire said, "You can't deny that the temperature change between the inside of the locker room and the pitch is massive."

"She's right," Jake said, looking up from where he was putting on his arm guards, "There's at least a thirty degree difference."

"It's negative eight out there," Dom said, "It's cold."

Teddy shook his head, "You guys… Man up."

"I'd rather not," Victoire said, "I like being a girl, thanks."

Sam rolled his eyes, "We'll be fine once we get out there and get going. It's definitely cold, but we'll be fine anyway. It's not like we haven't played in colder weather."

"That may be so, but it still sucks," Alexa said.

"You'll be fine," Liam said, "I'm with Teddy on this one."

"If we start arguing now things aren't going to go so well, so how about we all stop talking?" Victoire asked.

Teddy nodded, "We need to be in the best condition possible when we get out there. Are you guys ready?"

"Well, considering that we're either going to be playing Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff in the final, I suggest we go out there and crush them," Sam said, "Everyone's gotten infinitely better since the last practice that we had. We've got this down."

"I certainly hope so," Alexa said, "Seeing as this is your third-to-last game of the year and your Hogwarts Quidditch career."

"Speaking of, any scouts coming to this match?" Victoire asked.

Sam shrugged, "I don't know, they normally don't tell me because they want to see me playing the way I normally would. It kind of gives them a sense of insurance that I play well all the time and not just when I know they're here, but they might not be, I have no idea."

Victoire nodded slowly, "Well, I guess we'll find out."

"Everyone ready?" Sam asked.

After a chorus of agreements, Sam picked up his broom and looked at his team, who looked back at him with expressions of determination on their faces.

"Let's win this thing."

They shouldered their brooms, and soon enough, they were flying onto the pitch. They met the Ravenclaw team in the middle, Madam Hooch in between them. She put the whistle to her lips, pitched the Quaffle into the air, and with that, the game began.

Victoire sped forward and caught the Quaffle, turning her broom sharply to the right as she did. She smiled at the feel of her new broom, and the Ravenclaw Chaser that had been tailing her continued straight. She ducked under a Bludger that one of the Ravenclaw Beaters had sent toward her and continued down the pitch.

When she saw Alexa speed to fly beside her, she handed the Quaffle off to her best friend and then sped off down the pitch. She watched as Alexa and Teddy threw the Quaffle back and forth until they reached the end of the pitch. Teddy shot it past the Keeper, who sped after it. There was a collective groan from the Gryffindor section as Douglas Brownell sent the Quaffle flying away from the goalposts and down the pitch. Victoire sped after it, her eyes fixed on fourth-year Margaret Ladley, who was unfortunately good with a Quaffle.

She heard the sound of a ball flying toward her, and she ducked again as a Bludger flew over her head to fly directly in front of Margaret, who pulled up to avoid being hit by it. Teddy snuck the Quaffle from under her arm as she paused, and with that, the Quaffle was back in Gryffindor's possession.

After a carefully executed play, Alexa slammed the Quaffle through the left hoop.

"AFTER A LONG FIGHT OVER THE QUAFFLE, GRYFFINDOR SCORES. TEN-ZERO GRYFFINDOR!" Monica's voice rang across the pitch.

An hour later, the game was still tight, with Gryffindor only leading seventy to fifty. Victoire had the Quaffle tucked under her arm as she flew towards the Ravenclaw Keeper, when she finally heard the words.

"AFTER A HARD-FOUGHT RACE FOR THE SNITCH, ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY POINTS GO TO… GRYFFINDOR! LIAM WOOD HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH, AND THE FINAL SCORE IS TWO HUNDRED TWENTY TO FIFTY."

Victoire saw a broad grin on Monica's face as she flew past her friend, and it was with a good deal of satisfaction that the Gryffindor team gathered in the locker room. Dominique gave her a high-five as soon as she set her broom down, and she returned it with a grin.

"I knew we'd get that," Sam said, a wide smile on his face as he looked around at his team, "Great match, you lot."

"We're pretty incredible, aren't we?" Alexa asked.

"Definitely," Liam said.

"Well, I guess we'll find out who we'll be playing in the final soon enough," Teddy said, "In the meantime, I intend to attend the party that's sure to be happening in the common room any moment now."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," Victoire said.

Once they'd removed their robes and pulled on their coats, the team trekked up through the snow to the castle. For the first time, Jake didn't seem to be uncomfortable with the rest of the team, and he joined in with their playful banter the entire way to the castle.

They entered the Gryffindor common room to the sound of cheers, which only grew louder when the rest of the house saw their victorious team.

"Great match, Vic!"

Victoire smiled at Annie Ledford. The pretty blonde sixth-year stood there on the arm of her boyfriend Kyle Southerd, who was a seventh year.

"Thanks, Annie," Victoire said, "Things are looking good."

"It sure looked like it," Kyle said, "You lot have been playing fantastically this year."

"We try," Victoire said, her smile widening, "I'm glad you guys are happy with the match."

"It's hard to be upset about it," Annie said, "A win streak is nothing to complain about."

"Definitely not," Kyle said.

"Vic!"

Victoire turned to see Chelsea, who was walking towards her swiftly.

"Great match," Chelsea said, "There was a scout there for Sam, he was sitting next to Nick and me."

"Did he seem happy?" Victoire asked.

"He certainly didn't look displeased," Annie said, "We were on the other side of him."

"I hope they end up taking Sam, he deserves it," Victoire said, "He's been doing so well this year, and we can be a difficult bunch to work with."

"He's got it in the bag," Kyle said, "It's odd, having everyone starting to figure out what they're going to do with their lives."

"Have you heard back from the Healing program?" Chelsea asked.

Kyle shook his head, "Not yet. I should hear back any day now. Fingers crossed I get in, but who knows what's going to happen."

"You're the best Potions student in the entire school, you'll be fine," Victoire said, "You've got all the qualities they look for in Healers."

"I tell him that every day, but he still refuses to listen to me," Annie said, sighing, "He says I'm biased."

"You're my girlfriend, you're supposed to be supportive," Kyle said.

Chelsea laughed, "She's telling you the truth, you're going to get it. Just because she has to be a supportive girlfriend doesn't mean that she can't tell you the truth every once in a while and have it be supportive as well."

"I guess," Kyle said.

"KRISTINE!" Annie called. She smiled at Victoire and Chelsea, "Sorry, I see Kristine. Lovely talking to you though, Vic."

With that, she walked towards another sixth-year, Kyle following close behind.

Chelsea rolled her eyes, "He's so hung up on her it's ridiculous."

"It's pretty cute though," Victoire said, "I like relationships like that. You can tell he really loves her."

"Like you and a certain someone?" Chelsea asked.

Victoire's eyes widened, "I don't know what you mean."

"Teddy told me three weeks ago, Vic," Chelsea said, "There was something off about the two of you, so I pestered him until he told me."

Victoire groaned, "Not another person."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chelsea asked.

"I just…" Victoire said, sighing, "You can't say a word, you know that, right?"

Chelsea smiled, "Teddy told me, don't worry. I won't say anything, I promise. It's nice though, that you two have finally figured things out."

"We tried, anyway," Victoire said, "You know how these things can go."

"Yeah," Chelsea said, "I am happy for you though."

"Thanks," Victoire said.

Chelsea's smile widened, "Anytime."

Victoire spent the rest of the party talking to every person that came up to her. Finally, just before dinner, Professor Longbottom entered the common room.

"Yes, yes, I'm pleased as always, but you lot need to eat something, so please go down to the Great Hall," he said, his voice magnified over the sounds of the party, "Professor McGonagall will kill me if I let her old house go without dinner tonight, especially her winning Quidditch team. You can go back to the party after dinner, but please try not to be up too late, you do have classes tomorrow, remember that."

Victoire followed her friends out of the room, only to raise her eyebrows at the sight of Monica talking to a seventh year named Henry Vaughn.

"What's up with that?" Victoire asked, falling into step beside Alexa.

Alexa looked at her, "What, Monica and Henry? I don't know, he came up to her right after we got into the common room, and they've been talking all afternoon. I think there might be something going on there, but I'm a really bad person to ask. I don't really know all that much about him."

"I mean, I've never heard anything bad, but why her, and why now?" Victoire asked, "It's not like he's good friends with any of us. It's a bit surprising, if you ask me."

"Just a bit," Alexa said, "I dunno, I'm not going to question it right now, but if anything ends up happening, we're interrogating her."

"Agreed," Victoire said.

"What are we agreeing about?" Molly asked, joining the pair.

Alexa jerked her chin towards Monica and Henry, "We're going to interrogate her about that."

Molly nodded, "It's a bit odd, isn't it?"

"Just a bit," Victoire said, "Considering that she said that she likes Nick."

"Eh, let the girl make her own decisions," Molly said, "We've got her back if anything happens."

"Yeah, but still," Alexa said, "I don't understand that girl."

"Lexa, I don't think anyone does," Victoire said, "She's been confusing me since the day we met."

"She's been confusing everyone since the day that she met them," Molly said, "It's nothing new, honestly."

"Well, whatever happens, happens," Alexa said, "We'll keep an eye on her, that's all."

"Definitely," Molly said.

They continued down to the Great Hall and took their usual seats at the end of the Gryffindor table. The boys had beat them there, and it was with exchanged glances of exasperation that the girls sat down to the middle of a heated discussion.

"There's no way," Sam said.

"I'm telling you, it happened," Teddy said.

"But that's impossible," Sam said.

"Clearly not, because it happened," Teddy said.

"She could get in major trouble for that," Sam said.

"I don't think she realizes," Teddy said.

"But how could she not? It's not like that's something you can just avoid," Sam said.

Teddy shrugged, "I don't know, I don't exactly keep tabs on her anymore, but it's a bit weird, don't you think?"

"Very," Sam said.

"What's going on now?" Victoire asked, helping herself to some dinner, "And should I be worried?"

"No," Teddy said, shaking his head, "It's nothing that you need to worry about, Tori, it's just a bit surprising to me is all."

"So you're not going to tell us then," Molly said.

"Nope," Sam said.

"That is unfortunate," Alexa said.

"You'll live," Teddy said.

"We promise," Sam said.

Victoire nodded slowly, "If you say so."

"It's fine, I promise," Teddy said.

"Okay," Victoire said, "I believe you."

Molly rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't, but to each their own."

The rest of the evening was uneventful, and it was with a feeling of immense satisfaction that Victoire fell asleep that night.

* * *

**A/N:**

**This was a very, very, very short update, but I needed to get through this part of their year with some little thing, so I did. **

**I'm off to visit my cousin in New York this weekend, and I won't be home until next Tuesday, so I'm going to try to get the next chapter up before I leave on Thursday, but seeing as I plan on spending the next two days having a marathon of all of the Harry Potter movies (extended editions and all), I can't make any promises as to whether or not I'll be doing a lot of writing in that time, so if it's posted Tuesday or Wednesday next week, don't be too surprised.**

**I do have a vague idea of what the next chapter is going to be like, but I have to figure out the logistics of it. I'm just in a bit of a rut right now writing-wise (not just on this story, but with everything that I'm working on) and I'm going to try my best to push through it, but point is, I'll do my best to post, but if the chapters aren't the best pieces of writing in the world, don't hate me for that. Writer's block happens and I don't want to put you guys through another period of no updates, so they just might not be the best updates.**

**Thanks for reading and all the reviews you guys have left, I really appreciate it.**

**Peace and love x**

**~AC **


	15. Chapter 15

Valentine's Day was, in Victoire's opinion, both the best and worst day of the year so far.

The best, because she got to spend it with Teddy, but also the worst, because she couldn't actually admit that she was spending it with Teddy because they were together- for over a month no less.

Molly groaned as the four girls walked down to the entrance hall, "Well, Vic, looks like we've got an interesting day on our hands."

Victoire nodded, "I'll say. Mon, you're with Sam, Teddy, Molls, and me, right?"

"Yeah," Monica said, "Though I'm sure I'll live to regret this."

"It's not like we can pack on the PDA, you know that," Molly said, "Just be glad you're not going to be stuck with Lex and Liam."

Alexa grinned, "Yeah, I'm looking forward to this immensely."

"I don't know what to do with you," Victoire said, shaking her head.

"Nothing?" Alexa said, "We all know I'm perfect just the way I am."

"Let's not push it," Molly said, grinning at Alexa, who stuck her tongue out, "Anyway, it'll be fine. It's not like we're going to Puddifoot's or anything. Just a normal trip to the joke shop, Honeydukes, and The Three Broomsticks. Besides, I'm sure we can pick up a young single guy for you, Mon."

"As long as he's attractive and nice, I'm game," Monica said.

They walked into the entrance hall too see that it was packed with nearly every student in the third year or above. Victoire led the way through the crowd, weaving around couples until she found Teddy, Sam, and Liam standing near the doors talking quietly amongst themselves.

"Hello, boys," Molly said, "What are you talking about?"

"Quidditch stuff," the three boys chorused.

"Of course," Victoire said, "So, have you heard from the Puddlemere scout, Sam?"

The blond boy grinned, "He sent me a letter saying that I'm a person of heavy consideration and that they'll let me know within the month."

"That's great!" Alexa said, "We'll have two friends on professional teams."

Sam rolled his eyes, "That is, if I actually do get on."

"Let's not go through this again," Molly said, "You will. You're fine."

"Heard anything from the Auror office?" Alexa asked, looking at Teddy.

Teddy shook his head, "Not yet. We haven't taken N.E.W.T.s yet, it's going to be a while before I hear anything."

"It's not like he needs to worry about it though," Liam said, "What with your connections to the department and all."

"It doesn't matter," Teddy said, "The one thing that Harry and Ron won't do is let anyone in who doesn't deserve it, family or friends or otherwise. They know what it takes to be an Auror, and if I don't have it, I won't get in, whether I'm Harry's godson or not."

Victoire nodded, "Uncle Harry refuses to play favorites with anything like that. The Auror office, Quidditch games when we were younger, chess… Maybe when we were five, he would take it easy on us, but he never let it get so easy that we could win without trying."

"They've done everything they can to remind us that just because our family is the main group in the 'Saviours of the Wizarding World,' it doesn't mean that we automatically get everything without having to work for it," Molly said, "But Teddy, you're a great student, you'll get in, Uncle Harry or no Uncle Harry."

"She's right," Victoire said, smiling at him, "You've got the skills, you'll get in."

"You can pave the way for the rest of us," Alexa said.

"Well, for those of us that want to go into the Auror Department," Monica said, "I'll stick with being a Healer."

"You can patch Lexa and me up when we come off of missions," Victoire said, grinning.

"And I'll deal with all your legal work," Molly said, rolling her eyes.

"See, perfect team," Victoire said.

Liam opened his mouth to respond, only to snap it shut as the throng of students began to move. Once they were through the doors, they walked as quickly as they could down to the village in an attempt to beat the rest of the school.

"See you guys later," Alexa said, once they had reached Hogsmeade.

"Bye, you lot," Liam said, reaching for her hand.

The rest of the group said goodbye to the couple, who went off on their own.

"So where to?" Molly asked.

"I say that we head to Honeydukes and then to The Three Broomsticks," Monica said, "Give that first rush time to clear out, but let us beat the second one."

Victoire nodded, "Sounds good to me."

"I'm good with that," Sam said.

Teddy shrugged, "Sounds fine."

They tramped off to Honeydukes, Victoire and Teddy walking as close as possible without arousing suspicion.

"Want anything?" Teddy asked, once they entered Honeydukes.

Victoire rolled her eyes, "Teddy, I'm perfectly capable of paying for my own things."

"I know that," Teddy said. He leaned closer to her, and when he spoke, his voice was a whisper, "But it's the boyfriend's job to buy the girlfriend chocolate on Valentine's Day, so if you want anything, I'm paying."

"I'm not too worried about that tradition," Victoire whispered back, grinning at him, "Besides, I'm not really in the mood for chocolate right now. Maybe later."

"Well, I'm going to get some just in case," Teddy said, before he straightened. He winked at her and disappeared, heading for the back of the store.

"Something's up with you two."

Victoire turned to see Jade standing there, arms crossed.

"Hi, Jade," Victoire said, "What do you mean?"

"You're acting more couple-y than usual," Jade said.

"We're acting how we always act," Victoire said, shrugging, "I don't have any idea what you mean."

"Just be glad Ruby is off with some sixth-year Ravenclaw right now," Jade said, "Otherwise she'd kill you."

"Thanks for the warning," Victoire said, "Here with anyone?"

Jade shook her head, "Yeah right."

Victoire nodded slowly, "Well…" She stood on her toes and looked around the room, beckoning when she saw the person she was looking for. Jake was at her side moments later, and she grinned, "Jake, you know Jade, right? And you're both here alone, correct?"

"Yeah…" Jake said, raising his eyebrows, "Why?"

"I think you two should spend some time getting to know one another," Victoire said, her smile widening, "I have to go find the lot I came in with, since Lexa and Liam ditched us to go on a Valentine's Day date, but enjoy!"

She left the pair standing there awkwardly and headed to the back of the store, picking up a few bits of candy on the way. She found Teddy at the register, and he snagged the candy in her hands, dropped it on the counter, and passed the shopkeeper the necessary coins, all before Victoire had a chance to protest.

"You prat!" she said, smacking him as she took the candy that sat on the counter, "You weren't supposed to do that!"

"And yet I did," he said, grinning at her, "Come on, we need to find the others before they sneak off."

He didn't leave her room for another word before he started off through the store. Victoire followed him, shaking her head. They found the other three by the door, and headed off to The Three Broomsticks.

"Jade knows something's up," Victoire muttered, once they were out of earshot of the rest of the school.

Teddy looked down at her, "What makes you say that?"

"She told me that there's something going on with us," Victoire said, "I don't think we're acting that different, do you?"

"You really aren't," Monica said, "Still sickeningly sweet, still clearly in love with each other, still hitting each other for being stupid… I think you're good."

"I think you're fine," Sam said, "Besides, it's not like anyone will believe her if she tells anyone."

"I suppose," Victoire said, "You really think we aren't being too obvious?"

"Anyone who would notice any change would have to know you two really, really, _really _well," Sam said, "Like one of us. Regardless of whether your opinion of her has changed or not, she doesn't know you two nearly as well as we do."

"But she did spend years observing you and Teddy with Ruby," Molly said, "She may not know Vic very well, but she's got Teddy's behaviour pinned at this point, and since he's always with Vic… She's probably got Vic down as well."

"Exactly," Victoire said, "Observation can do a lot, especially when you've got four and a half years of it…" She sighed, "Oh well."

Teddy shrugged, "They have to find out sometime, and while I'd rather it wasn't because someone else told the entire school… We'd manage."

Victoire made a face, "I really don't want them to find out this way."

"We'll deal with it, regardless of what happens," Teddy said, "Now, Three Broomsticks?"

Victoire nodded. They continued to The Three Broomsticks, and claimed a table in the corner of the room.

"Butterbeer for you lot?" Teddy asked.

After a series of murmurs of assent, Teddy went up to the counter to get four butterbeers. Victoire sighed and rested her head on her hand.

Molly raised her eyebrows, "Everything okay?"

"I think," Victoire said.

"We're talking later," Molly said, narrowing her eyes.

"Okay," Victoire said, her voice quiet.

Teddy came back moments later and set the four bottles of butterbeer down on the table, "Drinks are served."

"Thanks," Sam said, taking a butterbeer and sipping it, "Well, we're even closer than we were."

"It's a bit frightening, if you ask me," Teddy said, "We spend so much of our lives here, and then… Boom, it's over."

"Whatever will we do without you two around," Molly said, shaking her head, "You guys will be fine. Sam, you're basically set for Puddlemere, and Teddy, we all know you're going to get into the Auror program, so I don't know why you two are so worried about it."

"It's just natural, I guess," Sam said, "It's something new and unknown, and worrying about it helps me to handle it better."

"Besides, it is his future," Victoire said, "If he wasn't at least a little worried, I'd be very concerned."

"I'm sure you two will be fine though," Monica said, "Well, he may have another year, but I'm sure Liam will be too."

"Does he want to play professionally?" Teddy asked, "I never really got around to asking him."

Victoire shrugged, "I think it would depend on what kind of offer he got, honestly. He mentioned something about wanting to be an Auror a while ago, so I don't know. He'll be set relationship wise though, I don't see him and Lexa breaking up even when he graduates."

"They really are perfect for each other," Molly said, "Better suited for one another than any other couple I've ever seen." She patted Sam's arm gently, "Sorry."

He rolled his eyes, "I'll survive. Better than Teddy and Vic?"

"Maybe," Molly said, shrugging, "I don't know, that's up for debate. We need to give these two a little while to stew before we pass any judgment on them. It has only been a month and a half, after all."

"Thank you," Victoire said, "Everyone else seems to be completely convinced that this is going to last forever and I just want them to understand that we haven't even been together that long."

"Do we have to have this conversation on Valentine's Day?" Teddy asked.

"Sorry," Victoire said. She shied away from Molly and Monica's skeptical glances and looked at Sam, "So, how's N.E.W.T. studying going for you?"

They headed back to the castle a little while later, after stopping in at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"I'm just going to run up to the dormitory for a little," Victoire said, "Put my things away and all of that."

"I'm coming," Molly said, "We'll meet you two in the dining hall for dinner, okay?"

Sam nodded.

"I'm coming too," Monica said.

Teddy eyed Victoire skeptically. She avoided his gaze and started up the stairs, Molly and Monica close behind. They reached the dormitory to find it empty. Victoire sank onto her bed and sighed.

"What is it?" Monica asked.

"I don't know," Victoire said, "I just…"

"You just what?" Molly asked, sitting down on her bed, across from Victoire. Monica joined her, eyeing Victoire with a piercing gaze.

"He wants everyone to know," Victoire said, "And don't get me wrong, I'd love it if I could tell everyone, but I just… It's too soon, and we have to think about the family."

"I totally understand," Molly said, "Just like I was worried about you guys. What are you going to do about it?"

"I have no idea," Victoire said, "I'll figure something out, I guess."

"You should talk to him," Molly said, "Tell him that you're having a problem with it, and if he doesn't listen to you…"

She trailed off. Victoire looked at her cousin carefully, "If he doesn't listen to me, I should what?"

"If he doesn't listen to you, maybe he's not ready for you yet," Molly said, "He needs to respect your wishes, or at least agree to compromise."

Victoire exhaled slowly, "I guess you're right."

Molly looked at her, "Honey, it wouldn't be the first time." In spite of herself, Victoire laughed. Molly grinned, "I'm always good at cheering you up. You ready to go down to dinner, Vic, Mon?"

Victoire shook her head, "I think I'm going to stay up here for a little bit. I just need to collect myself before I'm around him again. I just wish this hadn't happened today."

"I know," Monica said, "I do, Vic, but remember, you've got us, and that's better than any boy."

"Definitely," Victoire said, "Thanks, Mon, Molls."

They smiled, and chorused, "Anytime."

"I guess I'll go down," Victoire said, "As long as you two sit on either side of me."

"Yes ma'am," Molly said.

"Sure thing," Monica said.

They went down to the Great Hall, Molly and Monica flanking Victoire. Once they entered the Great Hall, they headed to the opposite side of the table from where Teddy and Sam sat. Molly sat across from Sam, Victoire across from Teddy, and Monica across from an empty seat that Victoire was sure Alexa would fill as soon as she arrived.

"Everything okay?" Sam asked.

Molly nodded, "Good enough."

Sam raised his eyebrows, but didn't press any further, for which Victoire was immensely grateful.

Alexa and Liam arrived a short while later, and they carried most of the conversation during dinner. Victoire stayed largely silent, picking at her food and occasionally eating something. After twenty-five minutes of uncomfortable tension, Victoire stood up, "I think I'm going to go back to my dormitory, I'm really not feeling well."

Teddy stood as well, "At least let me show you something first."

Victoire looked at Molly, who nodded imperceptibly, before looking at Teddy, "Um… Okay."

She followed him out of the Great Hall through the winding corridors until they reached the hallway that she knew was home to the Room of Requirement. Teddy paced back and forth three times, and a door appeared in the wall. He opened the door and gestured for Victoire to enter. She did, and he followed her in, pulling the door shut behind him. She sighed sadly at the sight of a blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace, a few armchairs and a loveseat circled around it.

"Tori, what is it?" Teddy asked.

Victoire shut her eyes, willing herself to not say anything she'd regret, "We need to talk." She turned to face him, only to see that he'd gone pale.

"About what?" he asked, "I thought everything was going well."

"It is, it's just," Victoire paused and looked at him, "Would you please sit?"

He did as she asked, looking at her warily, "What do you want to talk about?"

"The fact that you don't seem to care that I don't want to make this widely known," Victoire said, gesturing between him and herself.

"It's not that I don't care, I just don't understand _why_," Teddy said.

"I told you already," Victoire said, "I don't want things to be bad for everyone else if we split, let alone have the entire school talking about it."

"Are you sure that's really it?" Teddy asked.

Victoire sighed in exasperation, "What else would it be?"

"I don't know," he said, narrowing his eyes, "Maybe you're embarrassed?"

She flushed bright red, feeling anger course through her, "_Why in Merlin's name would I be embarrassed?"_ She swallowed, trying to calm down, "In case you hadn't noticed, I've spent practically every day of my life with you in some way. I haven't given you any reason to think that I would be embarrassed of you."

"Well then, why can't we tell people?" Teddy asked, "I just want to tell everyone that I finally got the girl that I've been after for ages and that she's incredible and I'm unbelievably lucky to have her."

Victoire's eyes narrowed, "I told you why I don't want to tell anyone else, Teddy, and if you can't at least consider it as a reasonable thing, then maybe we need to reconsider this."

"Victoire," he said, his eyes wide, "I just want people to _know."_

"And you're not thinking about what I want at all," Victoire said, "Or you're thinking about it, but you won't consider changing your actions because of what I want. I'm perfectly okay with compromising on this, but we can't discuss a compromise if you won't consider my feelings. I'm not asking you be silent about this forever, just until we've been together long enough for me to feel like this is going to stay how it is."

"It will," Teddy said.

"Right now, I'm not so sure of that," Victoire said, "I guess that's all I needed to hear. I'll talk to you… I don't know when. Goodbye, Ted Lupin."

She turned and started for the door, barely faltering when she heard Teddy speak, pain in his voice, "But Tori, I love you."

She kept walking, and just before she exited the room, she threw over her shoulder, "Well, maybe you should start acting like it."

After wrenching the door open, she left the room and pulled the door shut behind her. As soon as it was closed, she sprinted down the hall away from the Room of Requirement, trying to get away before Teddy came after her.

She ran the entire way to Gryffindor Tower, and walked up to the dormitory as quickly as she could. She entered it to see Jade sitting on the bed, painting her toenails with a bright green nail polish.

"Is everything okay?" Jade asked.

"I…" Victoire looked at the girl, who had never so much as asked Victoire for the time of day, "You know what? It isn't."

Jade smiled sadly and patted the space beside her on the bed, "Tell me about it."

Without stopping to think about it, Victoire sat down on the bed and launched into the story.

"And so I left," she finished, her voice quiet.

Jade's mouth dropped, "He didn't even stop to consider what you wanted?"

Victoire shook her head, "In the beginning, he did, but I think he started to get tired of it a couple of weeks ago." She paused, "Wait, why are you being so nice?"

Jade flushed, "I, um… Jake and I are going for a walk tomorrow, and I think this might actually work out, and I wouldn't have started to talk to him if you hadn't dragged him over today." She looked at Victoire, "Plus, it's not normal for you to be upset like this and I'll be honest, it kind of worries me. I think I'd almost rather have you yelling at me, because this is strange."

Victoire smiled slightly, "Thanks."

Jade smiled, "Anytime. I really am sorry, Victoire. You know what you need?"

"What?" Victoire asked.

"Pajamas and hot chocolate," Jade said, drying her nails with a wave of her wand, "I'll run down to the kitchens and get some. Be back in a few. Get changed while I'm gone, alright?"

Victoire nodded, "Thanks again, Jade."

"I meant it when I said anytime," Jade said, "I'll be right back."

She stood and left the room. Victoire waited a few moments before standing herself and going over to her bed. When Jade came back, Victoire was sitting cross-legged on the bed.

"One for you," Jade said, handing her a mug, "And one for me."

She joined Victoire on the bed.

"You know, it's weird," Victoire said, after taking a sip of the hot chocolate, "We've lived in the same dormitory since we were eleven, and I really don't know much of anything about you."

Jade grinned, "Well, we weren't exactly on the best terms. Let's see… I live about an hour from London when I'm not here. I have a younger brother named Trent, who's nine, and a younger sister named Madeline, who's four, and a dog named Pippin." Her smile widened at Victoire's questioning glance, "My mum really likes Muggle novels. She's Muggle-born, so…"

Victoire nodded, "I see. Do you miss your siblings while you're here?"

"I do," Jade said, "A lot more than I would care to admit. They're little pests sometimes, but I do love them to death and I would hate to not have them. Trent can't wait to come to school. Maddie's a little too young to really be thinking about it yet, but knowing her, she'll be even worse than he is once she gets excited about this."

"It seems to happen that way a lot," Victoire said, "Merlin, I wish my parents would let us get a dog. We don't really have any pets, except the owls, and I don't really count them."

"It's nice," Jade said, "He's quite silly, but he makes everyone really happy, and he keeps my mum company while I'm here and Dad's working."

"What does he do?" Victoire asked.

"He works for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," Jade said, "Quite closely with your uncles, sometimes. He speaks really highly of them."

Victoire laughed, "Most people do, but I think that's more for the whole 'they defeated Voldemort' thing than their actual work."

Jade smiled, "Nah, Dad likes them because he says that Harry's transformed the Auror program into something that commands some serious respect, and also because they're some of the more well-mannered Ministry officials, though I can't imagine the place is too bad, given that it's starting to be filled with people from when our parents were at school. All those old hags are retiring now, which is good news for everyone." Her smile widened, "Especially us. There will actually be positions when we graduate."

Victoire raised her mug, "Here's to us getting in to whatever it is that we want to do after school."

Jade clinked her mug against Victoire's, "Cheers."

They each took a sip from their respective mugs. When Molly, Monica, and Alexa arrived an hour later, it was to find Victoire and Jade laughing hysterically on Victoire's bed.

"And then he managed to get a salt shaker stuck in the ceiling fan," Jade said, clutching her stomach, "My mum was so mad at him. He was grounded for two months!"

Victoire laughed, rolling over, "I can't believe he managed to do that. How did he?"

"I have no idea," Jade said, breathless.

Victoire grinned, only to sit up when she saw her three friends, "Hey, guys."

"This was unexpected," Molly said, eyeing them, "So, how did things go?"

"He's a prat," Jade and Victoire chorused. They looked at each other and high-fived.

Alexa raised her eyebrows, "Which means…"

"I don't have a boyfriend anymore, I don't think," Victoire said, sighing, "But I did get a new friend out of the bargain, so it's not as bad as it could have been."

Monica, Molly, and Alexa exchanged glances before shrugging and piling on Victoire's bed. Victoire laughed and drew them all into a hug, Jade included. Within twenty minutes, the five girls were talking like they had all been friends for years, and when Ruby showed up just before eleven that night, her eyes narrowed.

"Sinking pretty low there, aren't you, Jade?" she asked.

Jade rolled her eyes, "Somehow it doesn't feel like it, seeing as I've just made some friends who are pretty damn amazing, and you're the one in the room without any friends here now."

Alexa slung her arm around Jade's shoulders, "I like you."

Jade laughed, "I like you too, Alexa."

Ruby scoffed and went into the bathroom. The other five girls exchanged glances, only to burst out laughing a moment later.

"Well, that was interesting," Molly said, wiping her eyes a minute later, "This changes things."

"For the better, I think," Monica said.

"Definitely," Victoire said.

Jade smiled, "Thanks, guys. For letting me be your friend."

Alexa laughed, "We're really not that bad. You're welcome to be here."

When they went to bed twenty minutes later, Molly looked at Victoire, "You sure you're okay?"

Victoire nodded, "I'm not one hundred percent, but I'll be fine, Molls. I swear."

"Okay," Molly said, "I'll kill him if you want me to."

"No, it's okay," Victoire said, "Thanks though."

"What kind of cousin would I be if I didn't offer?" Molly asked, grinning, "Alright. Night, Vic. Night, guys."

"Night," came the chorus of voices.

Victoire somehow fell asleep with a smile on her face.

After all, she reasoned, Valentine's Day could have gone _a lot_ worse.

* * *

**A/N: **

**I know, I know, you all hate me right now, but this is the way that Victoire is telling me that her story needs to go, so this is the way it's going.**

**It will be okay.**

**I promise.**

**Things will work out.**

**I swear.**

**Eventually.**

**Peace and love x**

**~AC**


	16. Chapter 16

When Victoire woke up the next morning, it was to see Jade standing at the mirror braiding her hair. Around her, Alexa, Molly, and Monica were in various stages of waking up and getting dressed.

"Morning," Jade said, nodding at Victoire's reflection.

"Morning," Victoire said. Alexa looked at her and raised her eyebrows. Victoire smiled at her, "Lexa, I'm okay. I promise."

"You'd better not be lying," Monica said.

"I'm not," Victoire said, getting out of bed and reaching for her clothes, "I've been better, but I'm fine."

"So are you going to talk to him again?" Molly asked.

"Of course not," Jade said, "Let him stew for a while."

Victoire chuckled, pulling on her sweater, "That was the plan, yeah." She sobered, "It's not that I don't want to be with him, because I do, it's just that… Why would I want to be with him when he doesn't stop to consider my feelings? He never had that problem when we were just friends, and I don't mean to let him start now."

"Good," Molly said, "He deserves a little bit of time to think about what he did to you, because it really wasn't fair. You would have compromised, wouldn't you?"

"Of course," Victoire said, "He just never stopped to consider that option." She brushed through her hair, and then reached for her shoes.

Alexa rolled her eyes, "Men."

"Sounds about right, yeah," Monica said.

Victoire finished tying her shoes and stood up, "Ready to go to breakfast?"

"Just let me grab my bag," Jade said.

Once everyone had shouldered their bags, they headed down to the Great Hall, taking a group of seats that were four seats down from where Sam and Teddy sat. Victoire could feel Teddy's eyes on her, but she ignored him and reached for her goblet.

"So, when are you going on your walk with Jake?" Victoire asked, looking at Jade.

"Before dinner," Jade said, flushing.

Alexa made a cooing noise, "That's adorable."

Jade threw a roll at her, "Shut up."

Alexa caught the roll and took a bite out of it, winking at Jade, "Wouldn't dream of it, gem."

Monica laughed, "I actually like having you around. I never thought I'd say that."

Jade grinned, "Honey, the feeling is mutual."

As they were leaving the dining hall, Victoire froze, "Oh Merlin."

"What is it?" Alexa asked.

"I have rounds on Friday," Victoire said.

"And this is a problem why?" Jade asked.

"Teddy," was all Victoire would say.

"I'll fill in for you."

Victoire turned to see Chelsea standing there, her eyes full of sadness, "Really?"

Chelsea nodded, "I overheard Teddy complaining to Sam. I'll take care of it tomorrow. If you don't want to keep switching with people, I suggest you talk to Serenity about it and she can rework a couple of pairings. I'm fine switching with you if you're okay with patrolling with Atwood."

"That's fine with me," Victoire said, "I don't really know him all that well, but anything's better than… Yeah."

"Alright," Chelsea said, "Just let Serenity know."

"Will do," Victoire said, "Thanks a million, Chels."

Chelsea smiled slightly, "No problem, Vic."

The sixth-year headed off down the corridor. Victoire watched her, lost in thought, before shaking her head and heading off to her first class with the girls.

When she got out of her last class of the day, Teddy was leaning up against the wall outside the door. She rolled her eyes and started off down the corridor. He jogged to catch up with her.

"What's this about you switching patrol partners with Chelsea?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

Victoire shrugged and continued to walk, not pausing to so much as glance at him.

Teddy gaped at her, "You're giving me the silent treatment? Real mature, Victoire."

She rolled her eyes again and started up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower, leaving Teddy to stare after her.

She ended up spending the evening in the library with Molly, Monica, and Alexa. Jade arrived not long after dinner, breathless and grinning.

"So it went well, I take it?" Victoire asked, "Seeing as you didn't join us for dinner?"

Jade nodded, her smile widening, "I ate with him. It was really good."

"Great," Molly said, "Now pull up a chair, we're working on that stupid Charms essay, and while I may not have liked you much, I paid enough attention to you to know that you're one of the better people at Charms in our year, so help us idiots figure out where it is that we're going wrong."

Jade laughed and did as Molly said.

By the time rounds came along that Friday, Victoire was ready to murder Teddy.

Well, maybe murder was a little bit too harsh of a word.

She was ready to maim or perhaps seriously injure him.

Yes, that sounded about right.

Despite her best attempts to get him to leave her alone, he continued to try to talk to her. Her friends had taken to forming a sort of honour guard around her as they walked the halls to prevent her former best friend from accosting her in the corridor. She knew she would talk to him eventually, but she also knew that she wasn't ready to do it, and that the more he tried to get her to talk to him, the less likely it was that she would respond. If it weren't for the fact that Serenity had approved her request to switch partners with Chelsea for patrol, Victoire might have burrowed into her bed and never left it again until June, exams and Quidditch be damned.

She headed down to the Great Hall when it came time for rounds, her hands shoved deep into her pockets. A tall boy with black hair and hazel eyes was leaning up against the wall, his arms crossed and a neutral expression on his face. His green-and-silver tie hung loosely around his neck. He nodded to her as she approached.

"Hey."

She nodded back, "Hi."

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said.

They started off down the corridor, wands out, heading on the circuit that would take them down through the dungeons first. After a few minutes, he spoke.

"I must say, I didn't expect Chelsea telling me that she was going to be switching partners with you. I didn't do something to make her want to get away from me all of a sudden, did I?"

Victoire chuckled quietly, "No, it wasn't you. I needed a new partner for rounds, and Chelsea said it was fine. I checked it with Serenity, and all she did was raise her eyebrows and go 'Lupin for Atwood? If that's what you want.'"

He gave her a half-smile, "She would. Typical Serenity right there."

"You know her well?" Victoire asked.

"She's my cousin," he said, "So you could say that I know her pretty well, yeah."

"I see," Victoire said. They were silent for a few minutes until she spoke again, "I feel really awkward calling you Atwood. I know everyone does, but it's a bit strange for me."

"Danny," he said, not taking his eyes off the hallway in front of them, "That's also an acceptable name."

"Alright," Victoire said, "I go by Vic a lot, if that's, um…"

He smiled crookedly, "I think everyone knows that, whether they talk to you or not, but thanks anyway."

She nodded slowly, rubbing her arm in an attempt to feel more comfortable. His silence was unpleasant, but it wasn't cold, just awkward. They flipped open every door that they walked past, sending three couples scurrying away with red faces and a loss of ten points per person for their houses. It was routine work, but it felt abnormal to Victoire.

Halfway through their patrol, as they were nearing the Astronomy Tower, Danny stopped, "You know, I don't get it."

"What?" Victoire asked.

"Why in Merlin's name would you want to switch patrol partners with Chelsea?" he asked, "You and Lupin are practically joined at the hip, and you don't even know me, so why switch with her? Why not switch with whoever's been patrolling with Wood? You two are friends, aren't you? Or is it just that he's dating that one girl that you're friends with and she'll get jealous?"

"Alexa would never get like that when it comes to me, she knows I have absolutely no interest in Liam. I've been friends with him since I was little, and he and Sam have always been the protective older brother types. I'd never even dream of dating them. Anyways, that was kind of the point, switching with Chelsea," Victoire said, "As far as Te- Lupin and I go, we're not joined at the hip so much anymore, hence my desire to switch partners."

Danny raised his eyebrows, "Oh really?"

She nodded, "Yeah. It was, um… Things happened, and I'm not too happy with him right now, and he still seems to think that he did nothing wrong, so I just wanted to get away from him."

"That's surprising," Danny said, "Not something I would have expected from the two of you."

"I won't lie, I don't think anyone really expected it, let alone the two of us," Victoire said, "It's not exactly something that would be normal for us, but things haven't exactly been normal lately." She paused, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be spilling all of my issues to you, let's just keep going with the patrol."

He raised his eyebrows again, but said nothing. They continued down the corridor, and Victoire breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that he didn't push the matter. They finished the patrol in silence, and parted ways in front of the Great Hall with exchanged nods and nothing else.

Their next patrol was more awkward than the last, with nothing more said between them than "Hello" and "Goodbye." Victoire continued to puzzle over the still-unknown Slytherin boy, and he continued to walk along in silence, though he didn't seem to be nearly as bothered by it as she was.

The patrol after that one, however, was completely different.

It was nearing mid-March at that point, and beginning to grow slightly warmer. Victoire arrived at the Great Hall to see Danny standing the same way he was when she first patrolled with him.

"Come on," he said, "Let's go."

They started off the way they usually did, down towards the dungeons, but fifteen minutes in, he spoke again, "This is weird."

"Just a little, yeah," Victoire said, exhaling.

"Want to play twenty questions?" he asked, "Or, more accurately, I ask you a question, you answer, you ask me a question, I answer, and so on."

"Sure," Victoire said.

"I'll start," he said, "Favorite color?"

"Light blue," Victoire said, "Favorite animal?"

"Lion," he said. He laughed at her confused expression, "I know, I know, it's Gryffindor's animal. I just think they're cool. Favorite story?"

"It's a Muggle story, it's called Pride and Prejudice, it's a love story," Victoire said, "Um… Favorite food?"

"Lobster," he said, chuckling quietly, "How many siblings?"

"Two," Victoire said, "What do you want to do?"

"Work as an Auror," he said, "Are your siblings older or younger?"

"Younger," she said, "Who's your best friend?"

"Seb Masters," he said, "Yours?"

"Alexa Miller," she said, "What made you want to be an Auror?"

"I want to prove to people that Slytherins aren't all bad," he said, "I know things have calmed down considerably as far as that goes, but the prejudice still exists. Plus, my Dad's a Muggleborn. He was a Ravenclaw and my mum was a Hufflepuff. My family doesn't exactly subscribe to the whole Pureblood mentality, and I want to stop anyone from ever repeating what Voldemort did. My mum's best friend's aunt was killed by Death Eaters, and she was apparently an amazing witch, and I don't want anyone to have to go through that, so that's why I want to stop things like that from happening."

Victoire was silent for a moment, and then she nodded, "I think that's really great."

"You do?" he asked, his eyes widening.

She nodded again, "Definitely. My parents always impressed upon me that you can't judge someone by things that are just on the surface, you have to know them underneath too, and I didn't follow that when I was judging Jade constantly, which was stupid and hypocritical of me, but it's kept me from hating people just on the basis of their house. Not everyone has that ingrained into them from childhood, and the only way to change prejudice against houses is from within the house itself, so yeah, I find it quite admirable, actually."

He gave her the same crooked smile from their first patrol, "You're the first person who's told me that outside of Seb and my family."

"Really?" she asked, "That's stupid."

"Tell me about it," he said, laughing derisively, "It's not like I've said I want to be Minister of Magic. I just want to help to catch people who are hurting those who can't or won't defend themselves. Things are definitely better than they used to be, but honestly, they still aren't as good as they should be, and I figured, maybe if I set an example, other Slytherins will follow my lead."

"I think they will," Victoire said, "Honestly. I don't really know many people from your house, but I've never heard anyone say anything bad about you. If they'll follow anyone, it's you."

"Thanks," he said, "Really. I mean it."

She smiled, "No problem. You're nicer than I thought."

"I can't decide if that's a compliment or an insult," he said, "Or both."

Her smile widened, "And you may never know either."

He gaped at her, "Victoire!"

"Yes, that's my name, very good," Victoire said, "Yours is Danny."

"I know that," he said, rolling his eyes, "You're a little minx, you know that?"

"Oh, definitely," Victoire said, "Always."

"And you're happy about that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, grinning.

"I don't know, because it's not the best thing to be called?" he said.

She rolled her eyes, "I'll survive."

"Are you sure about that?" he asked.

"One hundred percent," she said.

The next day, as she was walking to class with Alexa, they passed Danny, who was walking in the opposite direction with Seb.

"Hey Vic," Danny said, pausing.

"Hey Danny, hey Seb," Victoire said.

The other Slytherin nodded at her. Alexa was staring at the trio, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"How are things?" Danny asked, his shoulders relaxing as he spoke to Victoire.

"Good, I just had Charms, you?" Victoire asked.

"Fine," Danny said, "We have to get to Defense, but see you later?"

"Sure," Victoire said, grinning.

She and Danny exchanged smiles before he turned and continued to walk with Seb.

"What was that?" Alexa asked once he was a safe distance away, her eyes fixed on his retreating back.

"What do you mean?" Victoire asked, "Danny's my patrol partner, that's all."

"That was _nice_," Alexa said, "I wasn't expecting that."

Victoire shrugged, "He's a nice guy. We get along. What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, that you're flirting with a _Slytherin,_" Alexa said.

"What's wrong with being in Slytherin?" Victoire asked, "Danny's a friend, and he's actually got some extremely remarkable and respectable goals. Calm down. It's not like he's trying to kill me because I'm part Veela, we're just friends, that's all."

"If you say so," Alexa said, an expression of confusion still on her face, "Wow."

"Oh, stop it," Victoire said, "Get your mind out of the gutter, we have Transfiguration, you need to focus."

Alexa nodded, as she began to walk down the corridor with Victoire towards their classroom, "You're right. Sorry."

Of course, she didn't actually let it go, and that night, as they were all sitting in the dormitory, Alexa decided to break the news to the others.

"Vic has a new _friend,_" Alexa said, after she had shrugged on a jumper.

"What?" Jade asked.

"Who?" Molly asked.

"Since when?" Monica asked.

They all switched their gazes between Victoire and Alexa, waiting for an answer. Victoire shifted uncomfortably as Alexa's smile grew wider and wider.

"He's her patrol partner," Alexa said eventually, "Named Danny. He's in Slytherin, a sixth-year, I believe."

"You're shacking up with a Slytherin and you didn't tell us?" Monica asked.

Victoire flushed, "Guys!"

"So that's a yes then?" Monica asked, grinning.

Victoire gaped at her, "Of course not! I told Lexa, he's just my friend. That's all. You guys read into things way too much. Can I not even talk to a boy without needing to snog him?"

"Well, we know you can, Liam, Nick, and Sam exist, but I think I know which one she's talking about," Jade said, "Definitely crush-worthy. He's cute. Pretty smart too, from what I've heard."

Before she could stop herself, Victoire spoke, "He wants to be an Auror." She froze and clapped her hand over her mouth.

Molly laughed, "So you two are having conversations about what you want to spend the rest of your lives doing? Isn't it a bit soon for that? Have you even been on your first date yet?"

"What else are we supposed to do on patrol?" Victoire asked, "It gets boring. And no, I'm not going to drag him into a broom closet and snog his brains out, so don't even suggest it, Monica."

"I would never do such a thing," Monica said.

"I'd drag him into a broom closet and snog his brains out, if I were you," Jade said.

"Don't let Jake hear you saying that," Alexa said, grinning at Jade.

"What?" Jade asked, "It would be an entirely appearance-based snog. I don't want to date the boy. I just want to… Study what affect attractiveness level has on snog quality. Although, Vic, you should give it a shot."

"Are you serious?" Victoire asked, "Danny is my friend. My f, r, i, e, n, d, friend. I don't want to date him."

"Why not?" Alexa asked, "He's cute, you're both single, you seem to be getting along pretty well, from what you've told me… It might be the best thing for you right now."

"You're all crazy," Victoire said, "It's official. Completely and one hundred percent certifiably insane."

"Well, honey, someone has to do it," Molly said, "Consider it though, really."

Victoire rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure."

She was sitting alone in the library three days later when she slammed her Potions book shut and laid her head on the table, "I can't do this." She heard a chuckle and looked up to see Danny standing there, holding a book, "Oh, don't you dare laugh at me. Not all of us can be good at everything, you know."

"Oh, I'm hardly good at everything, just most things. Stuck on something?" he asked, ignoring her as she rolled her eyes.

"Stupid freaking Potions," she said, "I have to write two feet by next Tuesday and I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing."

"I doubt that," Danny said, "Want some help? I was pretty good at Potions last year."

"Why is it that Slytherins are so damn good at doing Potions? It's like a disease with you lot. I swear, half of you end up in that house just because you're guaranteed to be some sort of Potions protégé," Victoire said, but she shoved her book towards him, "Help. Now."

He laughed and set the book he was holding down on the table before taking a seat beside her, "Here, let me see what's going on with this."

Forty minutes later, she had half an essay in front of her and her sides hurt from holding in her laughter.

Danny tugged on the end of her ponytail and stood up, "You good now?"

"I think so," she said, "Thanks, Danny."

He grinned, "Anytime, Vic."

As he was walking away, she stood up, "DANNY!"

He turned around and looked at her, "Yeah?"

"Would you, um..." She swallowed, "Would you go with me on the next Hogsmeade trip?"

He jogged back over to her and pressed a kiss to her cheek before stepping back and smiling at her, the crooked smile that he never seemed to give anyone else, "Yes. See you tomorrow, and let me know how the essay goes, alright?"

She nodded, her face bright red, "Uh, yeah."

His smile widened, "It's just me, you can stop blushing."

"Shut up," she said, smacking his shoulder.

"There's the Victoire that I know and love," he said, "Alright, see you. Come find me if you have any more questions, the password to the Slytherin common room is Slughorn."

"Okay," she said, "Thanks."

He grinned at her one more time before walking away with his book in his hand. He was whistling as he exited the library, and she didn't sit down again until long after the whistle faded.

When she told her friends what she had done, their responses varied.

Jade's was simple.

"GO VIC!" she yelled, punching the air in victory, "This is great."

Alexa's was suspiciously calm.

"I knew you had it in you," Victoire's best friend said, smiling at her.

Monica's was a bit much, as expected.

"Well, you might as well snog him in a broom closet now, huh?"

"Monica!"

"You're practically going out, it's totally acceptable now!"

"MONICA!"

Molly's was much more reasonable.

"Well, see where it goes. I'm proud of you though."

Their next patrol arrived a few days before the Hogsmeade visit. Victoire had a free period during the last class block, so she had long since changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants, which she didn't stop to change out of before she went down to meet Danny outside the Great Hall. She did, however, take time to throw on a jumper- it was one that Grandmum Molly had given her for Christmas, not one of _his_ old ones, which she had shoved at the bottom of her trunk almost immediately following Valentine's Day.

He grinned at her, "Nice look."

She rolled her eyes, "I was free last, there was no way I was staying in the uniform."

He nodded in understanding, "I'd definitely do the same."

They started off on their patrol, and for the majority of it, they went through their more normal topics of conversation. Eventually, Danny asked the question Victoire had been hoping he wouldn't.

"So, why?"

"Why what?" she asked, glancing at him before turning her gaze back to corridor.

"Why me?" he asked, "Why ask me to go to Hogsmeade with you?"

She shrugged, "You're nice, we get along, and I'm sick of feeling sorry for myself, and I don't feel that way when I'm around you."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she said, "Plus, the girls were pretty encouraging."

"Oh, really?" he asked.

"I believe Monica told me I should pull you into a broom closet and snog your brains out," she said, "Don't worry, I'm not following that suggestion, it's a bit much."

He laughed, "I like your friends."

"I like my friends too," she said.

"So if you only asked me because you wanted to stop feeling sorry for yourself, does that mean this is going to be a one-time thing?" he asked.

"I don't really know, honestly," she said, "If you, uh, want it to be, then I guess so… Do you?"

He stopped and caught her wrist. She turned to face him. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her swiftly, only to step back and smile at her, "Does that answer your question?"

She smiled broadly, "I think so."

"What will your parents say when you bring home a Slytherin?" he asked, as they started on the rest of their rounds, this time hand-in-hand.

"Well, my dad will pull you into another room and give you a lecture about how he'll flay you if you so much as make me shed one tear, my mum will look at you and harp about how you're too skinny, and then they'll both look at each other and silently agree that I've done alright for myself, even though they won't admit it to you," Victoire said.

He chuckled, "That doesn't sound so bad."

"It could be worse," Victoire said, shrugging, "I could have a dad like Molly's. I mean, I love Uncle Percy and all, but the man is so overprotective it's unbelievable."

"I could handle it," Danny said.

"I don't doubt that," Victoire said, "It's not you I'd be worried about. It's him."

"Interesting," Danny said, laughing.

"That's Uncle Percy, all right," Victoire said, her voice dry, "Interesting. I don't think there's a single word that can be used to adequately describe him. You'd need a dictionary's worth."

Danny laughed harder, "I'm sure he's not that bad."

Victoire's eyes widened, "Oh, you have no idea how bad it can get."

He chuckled, and they continued off on their rounds.

Somehow, throughout the time that had passed since their argument, Teddy hadn't approached Victoire once. After the first two weeks of begging, groveling, and everything else he could think of, the seventh year had relegated himself to the furthest seat from Victoire he could get while still maintaining his ability to talk to Sam. Sam had refused to take sides, which Victoire didn't blame him for in the slightest, but it was odd having Teddy around when Victoire wasn't talking to him. Everyone had remarked on it at some point, and it was with great chagrin that Sam had approached her after lunch one day. He was just as afraid of Victoire as anyone, and her response to things had always been something that people had worried about, purely because she was good enough at magic to do some serious damage to anyone who made her angry enough. Her friends would never fall into that category, but they all feared the day that they might.

Victoire was just leaving the Great Hall when Sam caught up to her.

"Vic?"

She turned and smiled at Molly's boyfriend, "Yeah, Sam?"

"I wanted to talk to you about Quidditch," Sam said.

"What about it?" Victoire asked, tilting her head as she looked at him.

"Obviously you play fine with Jake, and he's your ex, but I just wanted to make sure that you can play with Teddy," Sam said, "Obviously, I'm not changing the team, but I'm fairly certain that my future on Puddlemere is riding on whether or not we win the Cup, so I need to know that you two can still work together and that your issues won't get in the way."

Victoire groaned, "I will _not_ jeopardize your chances of getting on Puddlemere just because I'm mad at Teddy, Sam. You're my friend, and your dreams are just as, if not more important than, almost anyone else's. I'll be fine. It'll be okay. I promise."

"Alright, if you're sure," Sam said, scratching the back of his neck, "I just don't want things to go wrong."

"I'm positive, and I understand that. Like I said, my arguments with Teddy have absolutely nothing to do with whether or not I'm dedicated to the team. Fight or not, ex or not, the team is more important than anything," Victoire said, "I don't have to get along with them off the pitch, but you can bet that I'm going to do whatever it takes to make things work during matches. I'm not that stupid, Sam."

"I know," Sam said, shrinking back slightly, "I just wanted to make sure that things would be okay. I have complete faith in you, Vic, I do, I just…"

"He's your best friend and you know how emotional I can get when it comes to him, yes, I know," Victoire said, narrowing her eyes, "The point is, I'm not going to let my issues get in the way of the team's success. I've never been the kind of person that would do that, and I'm not about to start now. I thought you knew that."

"I did," Sam said, "I do. I- uh- I'm…"

Victoire rolled her eyes, "Oh, calm down, I'm not going to hurt you. We need our captain, and like I said, I don't want to ruin your chances of getting on to Puddlemere, it wouldn't really be all that nice of me. Plus, I don't think Molls would ever forgive me if I injured you."

"Probably not," Sam said, relaxing, "Thanks, Vic."

"Yeah, yeah, you're lucky I'm nice."

That night, once they had started off on their patrol, Victoire told Danny what had happened with Sam earlier that day. The Slytherin had gaped at her, only to raise his eyebrows a moment later in a questioning glance.

"Things really are messed up between you and Lupin, aren't they?"

She sighed, "More than messed up, honestly. And the worst thing is, I don't even know if I'm sad about it. You'd think I would be, given how long I've known him, but I just feel kind of… I don't know, numb, when it comes to him. I can't decide if it's because missing him hasn't set in, or if it's because I really don't need him in my life like I thought I did."

"You never did tell me why it is that you two had your falling out," Danny said, after he mused over her statement for a few moments.

Victoire bit her lip, looking from left to right to check that there were no students out after hours (or at least, out after hours and within earshot), "If I tell you, you have to swear that you won't tell _anybody_."

He held out his hand, "Pinky swear."

She laughed and hooked pinkies with him, "Well, he and I were best friends from practically the day I was born…"

They were halfway through their rounds by the time she had finished telling him everything that she felt he needed to know. The story had been broken up by two snogging couples, one girl looking for her cat, and two third-year Ravenclaws who were trying to carry out a (very poorly executed) prank, but Victoire continued where she had left off after every pause.

When she had finished telling Danny everything, he stopped walking and took both of her hands, "So, does this mean I need to worry about Lupin being competition at some point?"

"No," Victoire said, "Not at all. I'm not really talking to him right now, as you might have noticed, so I don't think you need to worry that he's going to steal me away any time soon."

"Good," Danny said, "That's really good. Of course, if you wanted to go, I'd let you, because it's not really my place to tell you who you can or can't date, but I'd still be sad."

"I don't plan on going anywhere any time soon, so I think you're good," Victoire said.

"Perfect," Danny said, smiling.

* * *

**A/N:**

**I know, I know, you guys hate me.**

**This is an early upload though, so hate me a little less maybe?**

**Although you'll hate me even more on Monday when I upload the next chapter.**

**You'll hate me even more than that when I tell you the next thing:**

**This story is almost over.**

**I'm trying to finish it, and I've actually written the last chapter already, though I do need to edit it a bit. I've written the next chapter already as well (Which is why I say you'll hate me even more on Monday), but I have yet to write the ones between that and the final chapter.**

**Point is, the next chapter puts them in to mid-April. The story ends at the beginning of June and the end of Victoire's fifth year. As such, there aren't that many chapters left. **

**Once I'm done with this story, I probably won't be writing or posting the sequel until the beginning of June (I know, I know, I suck). The reason for this is purely that I have finals at the end of May, and between now and then I have to finish this story, rewrite a four-hundred-page novel, write a fourteen page long research paper for History, which will require about eight drafts between now and May 24, make up study guides for math and Organic Chemistry (Which takes me two hours per chapter just to read and take notes, and we've done about 14 chapters that I'll have to review), and cope with the fact that my best friends will be leaving me come August to go to college and I'm stuck here for another year.**

**I _WILL_ be writing a sequel though! I already know the basic plot of it, so it won't be too much of a problem, I just have to make sure I have enough time to do the work that I need to do, and I'd rather not post it than leave you guys hanging with no idea when the next chapter would be coming (Unless you'd be okay with a bi-weekly or more than likely upload-when-I-have-time schedule, so leave a review or send me a message and let me know).**

**I love you all, I do, and I promise you that things will work out in the end. Victoire and Teddy are one of my OTPs, after all.**

**I'm just going to put you through feels hell first.**

**Long author's note is long.**

**~AC**


	17. Chapter 17

The Quidditch final came the weekend before Victoire's Hogsmeade date with Danny, just after the beginning of April and Easter.

After a quiet lunch with some of her teammates, as well as Monica and Molly, Victoire went down to the locker room with Jake, Liam, and Alexa, where she pulled on her robes and shouldered her broom.

Sam looked over his silent team, who were watching him intently, his expression unreadable, "Guys, I…" He stopped and cleared his throat, looking down at the floor, "Never mind. Let's go and win this, I know we can do it."

With that, they headed out on to the pitch. Victoire gave Teddy a stony nod once they were hovering above the center of pitch, and he quickly masked his shocked expression and nodded back. In between them, Alexa rolled her eyes before turning her attention back to Sam, who shook hands with the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain, a seventh year named Isabel Victors. With that, the game began.

Teddy pitched the Quaffle to Alexa, who began to fly down the pitch at breakneck speed. Victoire followed as close as she could. She flew to Alexa's left, was thrown the Quaffle, and then she flew straight into a dive, leading the Hufflepuff chasers behind her. Just as she was reaching the bottom of the dive, she pitched the Quaffle straight up. Teddy snagged it out of the air and flew towards the goalposts as Victoire pulled out of the dive, hearing the curses of the Hufflepuff chasers from beneath her. Teddy slammed the Quaffle through the center ring, after weaving behind the Hufflepuff Keeper's back, and Victoire heard a cheer from the Gryffindor section, which contained some Ravenclaw and Slytherin students as well.

"AND LUPIN SCORES THE FIRST POINTS OF HIS FINAL QUIDDITCH MATCH AT HOGWARTS," Monica said, her voice magnified by the microphone, "THAT WAS AN AWFULLY COMPLEX COMBINATION, AND THE GRYFFINDOR TEAM SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO GET PAST ANY PERSONAL PROBLEMS TO WORK TOGETHER, SO THEY SHOULD GET TEN POINTS JUST FOR THAT. THE HUFFLEPUFF TEAM COULD CLEARLY LEARN A FEW LESSONS FROM OUR LIONS."

There were some boos from the Hufflepuff section. As she ducked a Bludger and pulled a hard left, the Quaffle tucked under her arm again, Victoire could imagine the grin on Monica's face, and the reprimand she had surely gotten from Professor McGonagall.

Victoire, Alexa, and Teddy continued to toss the Quaffle back and forth, and an hour and a half later, the score was one hundred and ten points to one hundred, Hufflepuff.

The Gryffindor team was growing tired, and morale was dropping in the Gryffindor student section, while the Hufflepuffs grew even more rowdy with every new goal from their team. Even Monica's commentary was growing half-hearted. Victoire could see the tense look on Sam's face as he continued to slam Bludgers toward the Hufflepuff team, knowing that his future with Puddlemere was on the line.

The difference in score rose slowly over the next half hour.

One hundred and twenty to one hundred.

One hundred and thirty to one hundred.

One hundred and forty to one hundred.

One hundred and fifty to one hundred.

As one of the Hufflepuff Chasers was preparing to throw the Quaffle again, Monica's voice rang across the pitch with renewed vigor, "WHY, IT LOOKS AS THOUGH GRYFFINDOR SEEKER LIAM WOOD MAY HAVE SEEN THE SNITCH." As Liam crouched on his broom, speeding up as he dived towards the turf, Monica spoke again, "WHY, I THINK HE HAS."

With that, the game began again in earnest.

Victoire stole the Quaffle from the Hufflepuff Chaser, earning herself a dirty look and some commentary from Monica, "WEASLEY GETS THE QUAFFLE WITH A CRAFTY MOVE ON HER PART. I THINK WIGGINS WILL HAVE IT OUT FOR HER FROM NOW ON."

After another combination, Alexa slammed the Quaffle through the right hoop. The Hufflepuff Keeper glared at her and repositioned himself. As Victoire prepared for another pass, she heard the words everyone had been waiting for, whether it made them happy or not.

"LIAM WOOD HAS CAUGHT THE SNITCH. THE FINAL SCORE IS TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY POINTS TO ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY. GRYFFINDOR WINS!"

Monica's announcement elicited an ear-screeching cheer from the Gryffindor section. Liam was hovering just above the pitch, holding the Snitch in his hand and staring at it, his eyes wide. Sam slammed into him a moment later, catching his Seeker in a hug and pounding him on the back, and within moments, the rest of the team had joined the pile, sending them floating slowly toward the pitch with the weight of their hug.. After a few minutes of cheers from the crowd, they started back to the locker room. As Victoire was flying slowly off the pitch, she heard someone shout her name. She turned to see Danny standing by the railing of the student section. He winked at her before disappearing into the crowd of Gryffindor supporters, and it was with a light heart that she went back to the locker room.

By the time she made it up to the Gryffindor common room, the victory party was in full swing. She shook her head and went up to the dormitory to take a shower and put on some different clothes. When she headed down to the common room again, she was hit with the sounds of music coming from all directions. Sneaking carefully through the crowd- though she couldn't escape everyone, and was stopped four times and offered congratulations- she eventually made it out of the portrait hole. The corridors were empty, with everyone off in their common rooms either celebrating or mourning Gryffindor's win, and she had an easy time walking down the stairs and out the front doors of the castle. Her hands tucked in the pockets of her jeans, she made her way down to the lake and began to walk along its edge, pausing occasionally to look out over the water.

She came across Dom a few minutes later. The younger Weasley was sitting under a tree, her legs crossed in front of her as she stared out at the setting sun.

"I didn't expect to find you out here," Victoire said, looking down at her sister, "What are you doing here?"

Dom shrugged, "I dunno."

Victoire sat down beside Dom, raising her eyebrows, "Really?"

"Well, I do, I guess," Dom said, "I don't know, it's just that this is very strange for me. Sam and Teddy have been here since I started, and now they're going to be gone, and we're going to have a new captain. I know Mel was the captain before Sam, but she shared so much of the work with him that it was like we had two, and it's just going to be odd without him running the team."

"I know," Victoire said, "Alexa and I will have to work with whoever fills in for Teddy next year, and it's going to be that much more difficult without people we're used to playing with. I know we can do it, but it's going to take work."

"Speaking of, what was Monica talking about when she mentioned personal problems?" Dom asked, "I know you and Teddy aren't really talking, but would you care to tell me why?"

"I guess we never did end up telling you, did we?" Victoire said, sighing, "We were dating from Christmas until Valentine's Day, and we split up. I wasn't too happy with him, and I know part of it is my fault, but that's why he and I aren't really speaking to one another. I needed my space, and it took him a while to understand that, but he does now, so we'll work together, but we're not friends anymore. That's why I switched patrol partners."

Dom's mouth dropped, "You and Teddy were _dating_ one another, and it ended badly? I never in my life thought that would happen."

"I don't know," Victoire said, "There was something wrong with it, I guess. It was too soon, or we were too young, or we just weren't meant to be together like that. I'll always love the idiot for when we were younger, but I've seen a side of him that I just can't seem to be happy about, and I can't really get past that right now. Maybe I will eventually, but not yet."

Dom nodded, "I understand. Still, it's a shame."

"It is," Victoire said, "But I'm managing."

"Good," Dom said, "That's really good."

"So, how about you?" Victoire asked, after a few minutes of silence, "Any boys in your life?"

Dom shook her head, "As if. I scare them all too much."

Victoire laughed, "I can see why you would. Weasley women tend to terrify men, it just seems to run in our blood."

"It doesn't really help that Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley are our uncles, or that we're also related to Molly Weasley, Hermione Weasley, and Ginny Weasley," Dom said, "They look at us, they see people backed by a family that could kill them easily, or at the very least, make them regret any bad decision they made. I guess that's why you and Teddy didn't tell anyone?"

Victoire shrugged, "It was mostly because I didn't want things to be awkward for everyone else if we split up. By the way, just because I'm not talking to him doesn't mean you can't. You guys can all stay friends with him, it's not a requirement that you stop just because he and I aren't too thrilled with one another right now. I wouldn't ask any of you to do that, it wouldn't be right of me."

"It's not a big deal," Dom said, shrugging, "I don't really see him all that often, but I'd imagine it's awkward for Sam."

"Yeah," Victoire said, "He's managing it really well though, and I'm really thankful for that, because I don't have to feel so bad about it then." She sighed, "I dunno, Dom, maybe we really just weren't good for each other."

"I don't think that's it," Dom said, "I just think that you two have spent so much time together, and developed such a simple and easy relationship, that when you started to see it as _real_, it became too much, and you had to break it off. It doesn't mean that you won't ever be good for one another. It just means that time wasn't now."

Victoire made a face, "That could be a problem."

"Why?" Dom asked.

"There's someone else," Victoire said, "Danny Atwood, my patrol partner. I really like him, Dom. A lot. I know he's a Slytherin and everything, but he's very smart and sweet and he makes me happy."

"And there's nothing wrong with that," Dom said, "Teddy will get over it. He's not a total idiot. He had to have known that you were going to move on from him eventually once you two broke up, and while I doubt he'll be happy it's a Slytherin, at least it's not one of his friends or anything like that. Besides, Atwood's cute. Helpful, too."

"What would you know about that?" Victoire asked, raising her eyebrows.

"He's one of the tutors for Potions," Dom said, "Marianne used to go to him last year when she was having trouble, and she always dragged me or Alannah along with her, so I got to know him pretty well, at least on the surface. He's a nice kid. Serenity used to babysit Mari and he was at her house all the time, so Mari's practically like a younger sister to him. She's never said anything bad about him."

Victoire smiled, "Good. That's nice to hear, I really do like him. We're going to Hogsmeade together next weekend."

Dom grinned, "Just don't let yourself get dragged in too quickly. He is a Slytherin, after all."

Victoire rolled her eyes, "A terribly nice one who's done nothing but help me and let me dump my problems on him, even if he does make fun of me a bit."

"He's perfect for you, then," Dom said, "Mum and Dad will like him."

"I hope so," Victoire said, "I think he's going to be around for a while."

"That's good," Dom said, "Really good. You can make mistakes with him. You're not really going to be able to have a real relationship until you know what it is you do and don't want, and honestly, Vic, I think that was part of your problem with Teddy- he was so many things to you already that finding anything else for him to be was really hard. Once you have yourself figured out a bit more, it might be easier."

"True," Victoire said, "But who knows if we'll ever get back together?"

They sat there under the tree for a while longer, and once the sun was nearly down, they headed back to the castle together. They nipped down to the kitchen to get dinner, and then they headed back to Gryffindor Tower, where the victory party was still in full swing. Victoire slipped through the crowd and went up to her dormitory, reveling in the peace and quiet that she found upstairs.

By the time the rest of the girls came upstairs, Victoire was already asleep.

She awoke before anyone else the next morning, and decided to go for another walk before breakfast. She shrugged on a jumper over her shirt to ward off the morning chill, and headed out of the school and outside. There was no one out on the grounds this time, and she wandered in silence for a while. It gave her plenty of time to think, something she hadn't had much opportunity to do over recent weeks, what with friends, patrol, and intense Quidditch practices.

There was no question that she missed Teddy. That much she knew. What she didn't know was what exactly she missed about him. He had been her best friend for so long that there hadn't really been much room for him to be anything but everything to her, and it had been strange with him out of her life.

She had loved him for a long time, and she had loved him a lot for a long time as well. There hadn't been a moment without him, not really, at least, nothing important, and it was an unusual situation for her to be in. Her family loved him, she knew that, everyone did, and it was hard not to, but she'd found something in him that she didn't like.

It had been sweet of him to want everyone to know, and she knew that she could have compromised more, been more open to what he wanted, but at the same time, it just didn't feel right to her. It didn't feel like the way that things should have been, and Victoire was such a stickler for right that it didn't make any sense to her. Maybe Dom was right, maybe it had been too soon, but now what could she do? She had Danny, or would soon, and it wouldn't be fair to him if she were to tell him no, purely on the premise that she needed to think about her feelings.

Really, she supposed, it was hard for her because of what she saw every day. Her best friend and her cousin were both firmly rooted in relationships that were positive, almost overwhelmingly so. Liam treated Alexa like a princess, and Sam was challenging enough to keep Molly interested and happy for a long time, and Victoire knew that both couples would likely never break up. There was a balance there, a sense of puzzle pieces coming together, and they were all so perfect for one another that there was no question of what would happen. They had their issues, granted, but what couple didn't? The difference between them and the relationship that Victoire had with Teddy was that they could sit down and talk things out, and they had other people to talk to.

Victoire and Teddy were volatile. Their relationship was a ticking time bomb, held together by the fragile connections of two friends who had been close for so long that they didn't know how to be apart. They were both so full of emotion, so reactive, that they existed with the momentary speed of a collision of two things that should never have touched, and their split was an explosion induced by the force of their coming together. The speed with which things had happened and fallen apart wasn't shocking if she looked at it that way. They weren't good enough apart, which was why they couldn't be together. A relationship where both parties were incapable of being separate meant that they couldn't be together properly. Victoire's first instinct was to talk to Teddy about her problems, but when he was her problem, she had nowhere else to turn. Alexa, Molly, and Monica had been there for her for a long time as well, but they didn't know her like Teddy did, and she doubted they ever would, and it made talking to them difficult. Teddy had finished her sentences, her thoughts, and he could read her even when she didn't think she was giving him anything to look at. There was no one to talk to about her insecurities when he was the one she was insecure about.

Molly and Dom were right (Which happened a lot, though no one would ever readily tell them that). It would be good for her to be with someone else, to figure out what she wanted, and Danny was good. Danny was nice, Danny was safe, and Danny would help her. She knew that.

What would happen with Teddy was still a mystery, however.

She went back up to the castle, her hands tucked in her pockets, and headed to breakfast. Her friends raised their eyebrows as she sat down.

"Where were you?" Jade asked.

"I went for a walk," Victoire said, helping herself to the plate of breakfast sausages.

"At eight in the morning?" Molly asked, raising her eyebrows, "That's not like you."

"A lot of things that aren't like me have been happening lately, or have you missed that?" Victoire snapped. She sighed a moment later, "Sorry, Molls, I'm just a bit… On edge."

Molly nodded, "It's alright, you know I just want to know if you're okay."

Victoire shrugged, "I am, or at least, I think I am."

Alexa eyed her best friend with a piercing gaze, "You and I are going to have a talk after breakfast, and don't you dare argue with me. I know you, and I know when you need to talk to me, and this is one of those times." At Victoire's withering look, Alexa rolled her eyes, "I'm not going to say anything that you don't need to hear, alright?"

"Okay," Victoire said, conceding the battle, "I guess you're right."

After breakfast, Alexa dragged Victoire to their favorite spot to talk. It was in a little-used part of the castle, and they could be there for hours undisturbed. Once they were there, Alexa stared intently at Victoire, "Talk."

Victoire told Alexa everything she had gone through in her head that morning.

When she finished, Alexa narrowed her eyes, "You're being ridiculous."

Victoire's mouth dropped, "Lexa!"

"Don't Lexa me right now, Vic," Alexa said, standing up and pacing the length of the small turret, "You're being completely and utterly ridiculous."

"Why?" Victoire asked, crossing her arms.

"Because you're over thinking this to the point of idiocy," Alexa said, "That's why. And for your information, Liam and I are nowhere near perfect, and there's a lot of things that you lot don't hear about when it comes to the two of us. He and I argue regularly, actually, and it's only because we know that the good things outweigh the bad that we're still together. It's not because we sit down and talk things out. Actually, he and I are due for a screaming match within the next two weeks that will involve us yelling at one another for an obscenely long amount of time until we realize we're being stupid and apologize for everything we've done to annoy each other since the last time it happened. That's just how we do things. Anyway, your problem isn't as complicated as you like to think that it is. You're not in a bad place right now, Vic, and you need to stop thinking that you are."

"But-"

"No buts, and I'm not done talking anyway," Alexa said, "You and Teddy weren't right, that much is definitely true, but this isn't that complicated. What wouldn't be fair to Danny would be dating him when you're still unsure about your feelings for Teddy. Isn't that why you broke up with Jake? And anyway, you're only fifteen, Vic. Teddy's seventeen. I know the difference doesn't seem that big, and I know they always say that girls are more mature than boys, but you have to remember that he's getting ready to go out and live on his own, and you've still got another two years here in comfort and ease, so it's not exactly like you're on the same level as him in terms of life experience. He's been through a lot, Vic, and it's not anything that you can understand, no matter how much you think that you can. Did you ever think about that when you were stopping to consider why he would want everyone to know he was with you?"

"I didn't, no, but how does it-"

Alexa groaned, "I didn't see it when you two first broke up, but I've been watching him, Vic. You haven't. You've barely been paying any attention to him. He's not himself, not at all. He used to have these moments occasionally, but they've been getting worse and worse over the past few weeks. He's lost so much, Vic, so, so, so much, and he wanted to be able to hold on to you, to believe that you were going to be there for him, and then you weren't. I know you've told him he has people that love him, I know he has your family and us, but the point is, he doesn't have his parents. Unconditional love isn't something that he's ever had. Not from his grandmother, not from your family, not from anyone. I know that it is, but he doesn't see it that way. To him, Harry's children will always come first, his grandmother will always miss her daughter and son-in-law more than she'll ever love him, and he'll never get that kind of love from anyone. He _needed_ you, Vic. He still does."

Victoire was silent. Alexa nodded, "See, you didn't think about that. I know that you need your space, and it's right that you should have it. You deserve the chance to get to be by yourself for a while and to sort out your thoughts, and you're right, the two of you need to learn how to be apart, but this was not the way to go about it. This was not what he needed, not in the slightest, and it's not fair to dump that on him. It'll never be fair to dump that on him. He's a lot more complicated than even you can realize, and he and Sam have been fighting over that since the day they met. I know you didn't want to hear this, and I'm not telling you to get back together with him. I'm not even telling you to talk to him. What I am telling you is to look at things from his perspective, and not just from what _you_ might have done wrong, or think that he did. There's more to his thought process than his actions, and I'm sure he was worried the entire time."

With that, she picked up her jacket and nodded again, "I'm heading back to the common room, Liam and I need to go find somewhere private so that we can yell at each other and work our problems out. I'll leave you here to think, and remember, Vic, I do love you, it's just that you needed a bit of a whack upside the head."

Alexa left the tower room, leaving Victoire to sit there.

Her best friend had been right, she realized. Teddy had more complications than even fifteen years of friendship could ever figure out, and he needed someone who could help him through them.

It hurt to realize that she wasn't the person who could do that.

There had always been one certainty in her life, and that was Teddy, but she didn't even know if she wanted him to be her friend anymore. She knew he needed her, or someone like her, and she knew she was being selfish, but she couldn't bring herself to get past that. She needed someone too, and that someone was a person who made her feel perfect, and loved, and safe. Things with Teddy had been a disaster waiting to happen, and happen it did. There were no arguments about that.

The arguments were about what she had done to him, and what she deserved from the person that she dated.

Eventually, she stood. Hunger had been what motivated her to move, but she avoided the Great Hall. Instead, she went down to the kitchens and ate lunch there, the house elves scurrying around her as they worked to take care of things for the rest of the day and to prepare for dinner.

She took the mostly unused route back to Gryffindor Tower, but as she was walking through the small section of the third floor that she had to traverse, she saw the one person that she'd been so puzzled by lately (And always, she supposed).

He saw her and cast his eyes on the floor. His shoulders were slumped, and his hair was a dull black, which she knew he only wore because of his connection to Harry. It had been his way of reminding himself that he did have someone who was practically his parent, and she felt a wave of remorse rush over her.

"Teddy?" she said, her voice practically a whisper.

He looked up at her, and opened his mouth to speak.

She held up her hand, "Don't say anything, please. I just… I'm sorry. I'm really honestly sorry, but you need to know that I can't be with you right now. I can't be around you. I need to figure myself out and decide who I am and what I want, and I can't do that if I'm with you all the time. I just can't. I tried, but we need to learn how to be apart if we're ever going to be together. We need to learn how to be separate people, because we're terrible at that. Also, I just wanted you to know that I'm probably going to start dating Danny Atwood soon. I really, really like him a lot, he makes me happy, and I wanted you to know that it's nothing personal. I am sorry. I am. I just need time to myself and to spend with different people, so please don't try and do anything."

With that, she ran, not looking back as she heard him murmur her name.

She ran up the stairs, the rest of the way to Gryffindor Tower, and she collapsed on her bed once she reached the dormitory.

She seemed to be running from him a lot lately.

She didn't go to dinner that night. There didn't seem to be a point. She would just have to see him, and Alexa, and she didn't particularly want to see either of them, or Liam, or Sam and Molly. Jade and Jake, maybe, but even they were a bit much for her lately, and Monica had gone off with a Hufflepuff named Ben after breakfast, so she seemed to be off-limits as well.

She could always get a cat, she decided, and proceed to do nothing but live with her animals for the rest of her life. Things were too complicated for her to process, and O.W.L.s were just around the corner as well. There didn't seem to be any respite from the madness of her life, and she would have liked nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep for days until everything worked itself out without her, but she knew she couldn't do that, so she proceeded to stare at the top of her four-poster instead.

It was past dark out when she finally decided to get up and make the effort to put on her pajamas, and she fell into bed with a headache that would have made even her grandmother wince.

Weasley women were strong, she reasoned.

It was a shame she was being such a disappointment.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Victoire's going through emotional hell right now, isn't she? **

**It'll get better, I swear.**

**It's just kind of a necessary thing for character and relationship development and I know it's kind of sucky of me as the writer to be doing this to her but like I said in the last author's note, things will be okay.**

**Eventually.**

**I'm thinking there's... Four chapters left after this. Maybe five. We'll see. I have the next one written (I might just upload them as I write them instead of making you guys wait but I don't know, if I space them out then you won't have to wait as long for the sequel to be posted after the last chapter so I'll probably just post them on Mondays as per usual), and I'm starting the one that follows that. There's about a month long gap between the one I'm working on now and the final, so that's room for one to two more chapters. We'll see what happens. **

**Thank you all for reading and for the nice reviews, I know I never really say much about that, but I really honestly do appreciate them. I'm just forgetful and so I don't remember to mention them when I'm writing my author's notes. It really means a lot that you guys take the time to let me know what you think about the story. I'm writing it for you (also for myself, but mostly for you). I didn't expect to have people regularly reading this, so it means a lot 3**

**~AC**


	18. Chapter 18

Victoire spent the rest of the week wallowing.

Rationally, she knew that she really didn't have a reason to, but she wasn't in much of a mood to be rational, so she didn't care.

By the time the Hogsmeade trip rolled around the next weekend, she was so puzzled by her situation that she almost walked out of the dormitory with one shoe on. It was only Molly's kind comment about it that made her stop and put on the other shoe.

Danny noticed almost immediately.

"You alright?" he asked, as they were walking down to the village.

She nodded absentmindedly, "Yeah, fine. Just a bit confused, is all."

"Do you want to tell me what about?" he asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

She shook her head, "No, I'll figure it out."

"If you're sure," he said.

"Positive," she replied.

He took her hand then, and she smiled slightly.

Forty minutes later found them sitting in The Three Broomsticks, butterbeers in front of them. Victoire had pushed the situation with Teddy to the back of her mind, and found that she was actually enjoying herself, something that she hadn't expected when she'd left the school that morning.

Dom entered with Alannah and Marianne, and she patted Victoire on the head as the trio walked past. Danny laughed.

"You and your sister get along well, then?"

Victoire nodded, "Really well, yeah. She's only a year younger than I am, so I spent a lot of time with her when we were growing up, and I still do when we're at home. It helps that we're both very interested in Quidditch, but I'm definitely less into it than she is."

"That's good though," Danny said, "You've got the common ground. I've got the awkward situation where I have two older sisters who are both at least seven years older than I am, so I don't see them often."

"Oh really?" Victoire asked, "What are their names?"

"Marnie's the oldest," Danny said, "She's twenty-six, and she actually got married last year, so I see her even less than I see Natalie, who's twenty-three and working at St. Mungo's right now."

"That's unfortunate," Victoire said, "I'm the oldest of the cousins, so I've gotten to know everyone really well. There's a lot of youngsters in the family though. Most of them are younger than eleven, so they're not even at school and I only see them over the holidays. Of course, I see them constantly over the holidays because we're always at someone's for dinner and everyone's there, but still."

"It's nice that you have a big family though," Danny said, "I have four cousins, so it's not like I really have that much to look forward to at family gatherings. Brianna's in my year, so I see her a lot, and Serenity's here too, but Alan and Patrick are both around the same age as Marnie and Nat, so I don't see them often. Al's got two kids already anyway."

Victoire made a face, "Yeah, I'm not in that situation yet, fortunately. There's a pretty big age gap between me and some of the kids, but I've spent so much time with them that it really doesn't matter."

"I wish my family was big," Danny said, "It seems like it would be nice."

"It can be," Victoire said, "But it also means that family gatherings are absolutely mental."

"I can imagine," Danny said.

They wandered aimlessly around the village for the rest of the day, occasionally stopping in a store to look at one thing or another. The weather was too nice to stay inside for longer than an hour, so they ended up outside almost all day. They went back up to the castle shortly before dinner, and ended up walking the empty corridors, not speaking.

Victoire felt comfortable with him, she realized. They didn't _need_ to talk. Of course, she'd been like that with Teddy as well, but this was different. This wasn't something that existed because they'd run out of things to talk about. It existed because they knew that things could wait to be said.

When they parted ways for dinner, she felt more content than she had in a long while.

"So how was it?" Monica asked, once she sat down.

"It was good," Victoire said, "I'm happy."

Jade smiled, "Good."

Alexa just looked at her, not saying anything. Victoire turned her gaze to her plate, trying to ignore the shivers that ran down her spine from her friend's piercing gaze.

The sound of laughter made them look down the table, and Victoire's eyes widened.

Teddy sat there with a seventh year Gryffindor that Victoire knew by sight, not by name. She was pretty, with dark brown hair and brown eyes, and she and Teddy seemed to be heavily immersed in their conversation.

"What's he doing with Olivia Wells?" Monica asked, "I wasn't under the impression they talked to one another, let alone spent time together."

Victoire turned her gaze back to her friends. She shrugged, "It's his life, let him do what he wants."

She didn't see the glance that was exchanged by the other girls.

"Do you lot want to start studying soon?" Molly asked, "Aunt Hermione sent me a whole list of things that we could do to prepare for O.W.L.s, and I have my own as well, and you know it's never too soon to start preparing. We only have about a month."

Victoire nodded, "I'm all for it, we need to do well on these."

"We will," Monica said, "I don't think there's any arguments about that."

"No," Jade said, "The argument is just how well that is. Personally, I'd rather study and do really well than not study and only do moderately well."

"Agreed," Alexa said, "What do we want to start with?"

"I say Charms," Monica said, "There's all those notes, it's going to take us ages to go through all of them, and I'd rather not rush things."

"Definitely," Victoire said, "Library after classes tomorrow?"

"Sounds good to me," Molly said.

"Me too," Jade said.

"Works for me," Alexa said, shrugging, "Now that Quidditch is over, I don't really have anywhere in particular that I have to be after classes."

"Alright then," Molly said, "Library after classes tomorrow. Sounds good."

When dinner was over, Victoire went to the library on her own to do some of the reading that she had for Herbology, and then she headed down to the Great Hall. She and Danny had patrol yet again, and it seemed to be occurring more and more frequently. That could have just been due to the fact that she had a lot of work and the year was almost over, but it also could have been because Serenity had messed with the patrol schedule.

Danny was leaning against the wall in his usual position, and he straightened when she came down the corridor towards him. He held out his hand and she took it, and with that, they went off on patrol.

"I swear Serenity is rigging these," he said, "I feel like we patrol every week, when we're only supposed to be patrolling once every two weeks or so."

"I wouldn't put it past her," Victoire said, "But it could just feel that way, I haven't actually gone through it well enough to come to any sort of conclusion about whether or not she's actually making us patrol more often."

"She's definitely trying to set us up," Danny said.

"It worked, didn't it?" Victoire asked.

"It did, but still," Danny said, "It's a bit much, don't you think?"

Victoire shrugged, "She's Head Girl, I won't argue with her."

When they reached the Astronomy Tower, Victoire leaned against the railing and stared out at the grounds, running her fingers absentmindedly over the plaque that was dedicated to Albus Dumbledore. She could feel the letters beneath her fingers, but they seemed meaningless and inconsequential as she watched the stars.

_Victoire pulled Teddy into the space between a pillar and the wall, wincing._

"_Why are we hiding?" Teddy asked, his voice a hushed whisper._

_Victoire flushed, "They're… Well… That's Tina Allens and Peter Davies. They're… It would just be…"_

_Teddy smiled, "I understand, Tori. I happened upon them my first year as a prefect… I think I'm scarred for life."_

"_They're honestly the worst couple to ever come through the halls of Hogwarts, at least as far as PDA goes," Victoire said._

"_Well, aside from the stories Ginny's told me about Ron and… Lavender Brown, was it, his sixth year?" Teddy said, "I'd say they're up there too."_

_Victoire nodded again, only to blush as she realized her close proximity to Teddy._

"You alright?" Danny asked, joining her against the railing.

She nodded, "Yeah, fine."

_The Metamorphmagus looked down at her, his grey eyes wide._

"_What is it, Tori?" he asked, "You never blush like that."_

"_Your eyes look better when they're your normal color," Victoire said, her voice soft._

_Teddy scrunched up his nose and his eyes changed from the grey that they had been since the summer to a brown speckled with gold and green, "Better?"_

_She smiled, "Much."_

"I wanted to ask you something," Danny said.

"Go ahead," Victoire said, though she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"_They making you uncomfortable?" Victoire asked._

"_I don't like hearing other people snog," Teddy said, "It's unpleasant."_

"_But you don't mind snogging when you're the one doing it," Victoire said, tilting her head as she looked at him._

"_Well, of course not," Teddy said, "Although I must say, while she definitely was not the best kisser in the world, the one thing that I will give Gwen is that she always had her hands in my hair, and Merlin, it felt nice, and no one I've snogged since then has done that. It's quite unfortunate really."_

_Victoire chuckled quietly before reaching up to run her fingers through the scarlet locks, "Like this?"_

"_You're much better at it than she ever was," Teddy murmured._

"I've really enjoyed patrolling with you, and I had a lot of fun in Hogsmeade," Danny began. Victoire's mind wandered as he continued to speak, and she swallowed hard at the images that began to play through her mind.

"_Teddy?" she asked, her fingers knotted in his hair._

_His hands went to her waist and his eyes met hers, hazel and blue locked on one another, "Yes, Tori?" _

_She bit her lip, "Why did you stop with the turquoise hair?" _

_He shrugged, "I don't know, just felt like a change this summer is all. Why, did you like my hair when it was turquoise?"_

"_I loved it, actually," she said, "My favorite color and all of that."_

_He scrunched up his nose, and a moment later, she looked up to see that his hair was her favorite shade of turquoise. She smiled appreciatively._

"_Do you like it?" he asked._

"_I love it, Mister Lupin," she said, blinking slowly, "It's very… You. And, seeing as it's my absolute favorite color, it makes me feel like there's a giant label on you that says 'Property of Victoire Weasley, do not touch on pain of death.'"_

"_So I belong to you?" he asked, his voice rough._

"_I guess you could say that," Victoire said, her eyes locked on his. She could feel her cheeks burning as she looked at him, and it was all she could do to prevent herself from looking down as he leaned towards her._

"_If that's true, then I should be able to do this, shouldn't I?"_

"Would you be my girlfriend, Vic?"

_Before she could say another word to ask him what he meant, his mouth was on hers, and it was like nothing she'd ever felt before._

She could only stare at him. It took her a moment to realize where she was and who she was with, and she exhaled slowly before transferring her gaze to the ground and then back to his face, "Yes."

The smile that appeared on his face was well worth her answer, but as they walked down the stairs and away from the Astronomy Tower, she was hit with a feeling of unquestionable remorse.

By noon the next day, it was all over the school that Victoire Weasley was dating Danny Atwood, a Slytherin no less.

When she walked into the library after classes, Alexa was the only one there.

"So, you did it," Alexa said.

"Did what?" Victoire asked.

"Said yes to Atwood," Alexa said.

Victoire shrugged, "I did, yeah."

"I must say, I didn't really expect that from you," Alexa said, "Are you sure about this, Vic?"

Victoire's mouth dropped, "What do you mean, you didn't expect this from me? I like him, he likes me, he asked me out, I said yes."

"I didn't expect you to ignore Teddy's feelings," Alexa said, "And I also know you, Vic. I know when you're not sure about something, and this is definitely one of those times. Is that really fair to either Danny or Teddy?"

"I apologized to Teddy, for your information," Victoire said, "And I told him that I'd probably end up dating Danny. He knows that. He seemed perfectly happy with Olivia yesterday, anyway. I'm not really all that worried about it, he's an adult, he'll be fine. And yeah, I'm not sure, but how can I be sure if I don't try?"

Alexa rolled her eyes, "Okay, whatever, but if this blows up in your face, don't say I didn't warn you."

"You know, Alexa, I don't really know what your problem is," Victoire said, "You're supposed to be my best mate, but you're really not doing a good job of acting like it."

Alexa shook her head, "I'm worried about you. Like I said, I know you. I know that you're at your happiest when you're with Teddy, and while you do need to learn how to exist without him, you didn't have to cut him out completely. You could have told him that you needed space, that you weren't sure, anything. Instead, you walked away from him and from the one person that knows you better than anyone, including me. You two need each other, and pretending that you don't isn't going to do you any good, so why bother?"

Victoire stood up and shouldered her bag, "I don't need this from you right now."

"I think you do, and I think you don't want to admit it, and that's why you're mad at me," Alexa said, "Walk away, go ahead, but you can't run from your decisions, and it won't really do you any good to try to either. They're always going to catch up with you, and you'll have to face this eventually."

"I'm not running," Victoire said, narrowing her eyes, "I'm letting go and walking away. Sue me."

With that, she left the library. As she was heading to Gryffindor Tower, she ran into Molly and Jade.

"Where are you going?" Molly asked, "We were going to study."

"Go ahead," Victoire said, "I'm going to work on my own. I just need… Thinking space."

She didn't wait for a response, choosing instead to continue on her way and ignore Molly calling her name behind her.

Twenty minutes later found her in the dormitory, her books spread all over her bed and the floor. Ruby came in a few minutes after that.

"What, did your little group of friends abandon you?" the other girl asked.

Victoire kept her eyes on her paper, "Ruby, grow up."

"It's not me that needs to grow up," Ruby said.

"Oh really?" Victoire asked, looking up and locking eyes with the other girl, "Let me see, Ruby. You drove away your only friend because you couldn't bring yourself to treat her like a human being instead of your sidekick. You're obsessed with two boys, both of whom are or were completely enamored with very specific people. You spend your time making fun of other people because it makes you feel better about yourself for a little while, but then you wonder why you don't have any friends. I'm going through a lot of crap right now. I may have just lost my two best friends for good because I can't get past my own stupidity, so I'd suggest that you not cross me right now, because I'm really not in the mood to be kind."

Ruby's mouth dropped, "I can't believe you said that."

Victoire turned her gaze back to her books, "I can, and that fact saddens me greatly."

She heard Ruby leave a moment later.

It was true, what she had said to Ruby. She wouldn't have blamed Alexa if the other girl were mad at her until the end of forever. Her way of doing things hadn't exactly been kind. As far as Teddy was concerned, the fact of the matter was that she missed him, she just didn't know how to get around her own shortcomings and tell him that she needed her space if they were going to be friends. With Danny in the picture, things grew even more complicated.

Danny. She liked Danny, she really did. She had meant it when she told him that she didn't feel sorry for herself when she was around him. Regardless, she still couldn't help the feeling that she'd made a grave mistake with her response the previous night. There was no going back anymore, though, and she would just have to deal with whatever came her way later.

The next few days passed with an unending sense of disjunction in the dormitory. Victoire wasn't speaking to Alexa, Alexa wasn't speaking to Victoire, nobody would mention Teddy's name, and Victoire spent all of her free time with Danny, who had agreed to help her revise for her final exams without a second thought. Things had begun to fall apart around the edges, and there was little that anybody could do to stop it.

It was a sunny day in late April when Danny finally asked Victoire about what had been happening.

They were settled on a window seat at the back of the library, her legs over his as she leaned up against a bookcase and he leaned against the window ledge. Sun was streaming through the massive window, casting a warm glow on the bookshelves surrounding them. Victoire was clutching her Transfiguration textbook as she poured over her notes.

"So," Danny said, "What's going on?"

Victoire looked up from her book, "What do you mean?"

"You've been acting strange lately," Danny said, "So what's going on?"

Victoire shrugged, "It's nothing."

"It's definitely not nothing if it's bothering you still," Danny said, "You can tell me, I won't judge or anything. I'm your boyfriend, it's my job to listen to your problems and not judge you for them."

Victoire smiled slightly at that, and then sighed, "It's just… Alexa and I aren't really talking to one another right now."

"Why?" Danny asked.

"She thinks I went about things the wrong way with Teddy," Victoire said, noting how Danny tensed at the older boy's name, "She said that he's been pretty messed up because of it, and that I haven't been paying any attention at all, and basically, there were a whole bunch of things that were said that were never actually necessary, and I feel really bad about it, but it's not like I can do much of anything now. She also thinks I'm dating you just because, even though I'm not, so we're not exactly happy with each other right now."

Danny stayed silent for a few moments, and when he spoke, his voice was level, "I think that you two need to apologize to one another. She needs to understand that I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, and you just need to let her know that you know that she just wants what's best for you, even if it's not what _you_ think would be best."

Victoire sighed again, "I guess. I just wish that this whole thing hadn't become so complicated. We're all paired off, and things are dissolving, and Teddy and Sam will be gone soon, and I think it's just hard for all of us to accept that things are going to be a lot different next year."

Danny nodded, "It's only logical to be nervous of what's going to come, but it doesn't mean that you have to be scared. Talk to her. Don't scream at her, don't get emotional, don't do anything that could make it worse. Just talk to her. She's your best mate, Vic, she's going to want you to be happy."

"I suppose you're right," Victoire said, "Thanks, Danny."

He smiled, "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't help you with your problems?"

"I still don't know what to do about Teddy."

Danny's smile faded, "I don't know what to tell you about that."

"I don't think anyone really does," Victoire said, "I need to talk to my mum and my aunts, they'll have some idea of what to do about the whole thing."

Danny nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure they will."

They went off to dinner at short while later, Victoire still puzzling over the situation in her head. She sat down across from Alexa, whose eyes widened in shock.

"Pass me the pumpkin juice, would you?"

After dinner, Victoire stopped Alexa, "Can we talk?"

Alexa crossed her arms and eyed Victoire skeptically, and then nodded, "Yeah."

They wandered out of the castle and into the grounds.

"I'm sorry," Victoire said, "I just… I know what I'm doing, and I know you think that Danny's a mistake, but he makes me happy and that's really all I'm looking for right now."

Alexa's face was expressionless, "I just… Don't get it, Vic."

"What don't you get?" Victoire asked.

"You and Teddy have been mates practically since you were born," Alexa said, "You two were inseparable and we all knew you would end up together, so why did you run away from him? What reason did you have to go? I know I said I agreed with you, and yeah, what he did wasn't the greatest thing in the world, but you also didn't have to walk away from that. You didn't have to walk away from him. I know you miss him, Vic, I do, I can see it, and I just don't understand why you'd put yourself into this position. This isn't about Danny personally. This is about me seeing you run from something you clearly want and need, and then trying to tell me that you don't actually feel the way that I know you do. I'm not mad at you. I've never been mad at you, at least, not about this. I just don't understand this at all."

Victoire exhaled slowly, "The thing is, Lexa, I don't know either. I'm just doing whatever seems to make sense at the time and going with it. I miss him. I know I miss him. I just don't know how to have him back in my life without us falling into what we were, and I can't do that again. If I'm around him all the time like I used to be, I'll just want to be with him, but I can't be with him. Not until we figure out ourselves and whatever it is that we need to do to be happy without each other. Danny's step one in that process for me. He makes me happy, he makes me feel better, and it would be stupid of me to walk away from him because of something that Teddy and I could have."

"What you do have," Alexa said, crossing her arms again, "You can't deny the fact that you two are perfect for one another in more ways than one."

"Maybe we were, but we aren't any longer," Victoire said, "I just need to be able to make mistakes and do stupid things, and they can't involve him right now. I can't do that. I won't do that."

Alexa sighed, and then nodded, "Alright. Come on, I want ice cream."

They went back to the castle together. Their discussion wasn't forgotten, but it was set aside for a later date, and for that, Victoire was grateful.

* * *

**A/N:**

**By my calculations, there are... One, two, three, four, five chapters left. I managed to finish writing the next one, and I might post it on Wednesday or something. I really want to get this story finished and move on to the sequel, especially since I stumbled on the perfect title for it today during my incessant cycling through my iTunes library, and it seemed to fit absolutely flawlessly, but the title announcement will come in a later chapter just because I'm cruel like that.**

**I'm currently going between "Can't write, can't think" and "MUST WRITE" at the moment, so posting will most likely occur as normal due to the fact that I write a lot during the times when I feel like I absolutely have to. School's going to be messed up tomorrow, as the funeral is at ten tomorrow morning and a lot of people might end up going, even though the family is doing everything they can to keep people who don't have some connection from going. I'm going with my brother, because he needs to be there for his best friend, and I need to check on his friend's cousin, because I've had class with him the last two years and he's honestly one of the kindest people I've ever met. They've given the okay for us to be there, or I wouldn't be going, because I would feel rude. School will be strange though, we're just going to be going through the motions over the next couple of weeks, I'd guess, because none of us are really equipped to deal with this, so we'll see what happens. Everyone's very shaken up still, and I'm fighting the urge to yell at everyone for being hypocrites while still dealing with the fact that the last time I saw him is just repeating over and over again in my mind and making it very hard for me to focus.**

**Do me a favor, and do something nice tomorrow. Tell someone you love them, or that you like their shirt, or their shoes, or that they'll do something amazing in their life, because I'm really disappointed in people as a whole right now and it would be nice for people to try and do something to brighten up someone's day for no reason other than because it's nice to see people smile.**

**Peace and love, everyone. Times infinity x**

**~AC**


	19. Chapter 19

The couple of weeks that followed made things easier. Danny began to spend more time with Victoire's friends, occasionally bringing Seb with him, and everyone grew to be fond of the sixth-year Slytherin. Alexa still continued to watch Victoire, but she hadn't mentioned their conversation from days previous, and Victoire wasn't about to bring it up.

It helped that Teddy had been spending a lot of time with Olivia Wells, and seemed to be doing better. At least, it made Victoire feel less guilty about what had happened, and that was something that she couldn't be happier about. Whether or not she actually wanted to be around him, she still felt guilty for what she had done. It was difficult to ignore years of friendship, even if she had made the choice to end them. As such, sis birthday had come and gone, and she had said nothing to him, preferring to instead avoid anywhere he might be so that her lack of enthusiasm could be played off as coincidence, not impoliteness. Nobody had said anything about it, which made her happier than she would have ever thought possible, and she began to slowly fall into a routine that led her to places he rarely went.

The middle of April found her out in the grounds with everyone, Monica having brought along her new boyfriend, the Hufflepuff sixth-year named Ben. The girls were sitting on a blanket on the grass, studying, as the boys played Quidditch above them, tossing an old football around as a mock Quaffle. While the girls would have preferred to by having fun rather than studying that afternoon, they would take studying in good weather over cold and rain, though they were having trouble concentrating due to the antics of the boys above them.

"I swear to Merlin, if you lot drop that ball on us…" Victoire said, looking up.

"It'll be fine, Vic, calm down," Danny called, flying under Sam and grinning at her, "We're not going to hurt you guys."

"I never said you would do it on purpose," Victoire said, raising her eyebrows.

"But some of you are questionable," Jade said.

"Hey," Jake said, "I'm perfectly competent, I don't appreciate your doubt."

"I never said who was questionable," Jade said.

"She only said that some of you are," Molly said, "And I happen to agree with that statement."

"Am I supposed to be worried by this?" Sam asked.

Molly only laughed in response. Sam narrowed his eyes, and she blew him a kiss before turning her gaze back to the book in front of her. He rolled his eyes and pulled his broom up, gaining altitude as he hovered over his girlfriend and her best friends.

"Now shut up, we're studying," Monica said, looking up at the boys, "We can focus just fine when you're playing, but when you're talking to us…"

"It makes things difficult," Alexa said, "Go back to your game, please."

"Yes ma'am," Liam said, saluting her.

She rolled her eyes before looking at the rest of the girls, "Well, that's it for today's quota of Charms, thankfully. What now?"

"Defense," Molly said, "We need to review that packet on Unforgivables."

"You mean that ten page long thing that Uncle Harry gave us?" Victoire asked, groaning, "I thought the man would have assigned shorter readings, but even he has no mercy, apparently."

"Why would he?" Monica asked, "He went through the pain of long readings when he was here, there's no reason why he wouldn't assign them to us too. They have to continue the tradition, it's only fair, and I'd take longer readings over hazing any day. You heard the stories. Just be thankful we don't have to deal with the insanity of a new Defense teacher every year. I don't know how they did it, it sounds like it would be absolutely miserable."

"It probably was," Molly said, "I know their fifth year definitely was, but that's one year out of the bunch. I dunno, I think they're doing what they can to make sure that we know the material that we need to."

"They could have found a different way to do it," Jade said, "I mean, I love Defense and all, but I don't think I've ever been so confused in my life."

"It's just the material," Alexa said, "It's not that Harry's a bad teacher, he's actually great, it's just that we've had a lot thrown at us in a short span of time. If we do this the right way, it should be fine. The O.W.L.s are meant to assess where we are, not to completely and totally ruin everything."

"Yeah, but they potentially could," Monica said.

"They aren't going to though," Molly said, "Maybe for someone else, but not for us. None of us are exactly stupid, it'll be fine."

"None of us are exactly stupid?" Jade asked, raising her eyebrows, "Does that mean that we're kind of stupid, but not exactly?"

"Only about some things," Victoire said, grinning. She sobered a moment later, "Honestly though, we're all of above average intelligence. I don't think we need to worry, as long as we keep studying and working hard."

"I'm with Vic on this," Molly said, "Plenty of generations of Hogwarts students have survived the O.W.L.s. Why would we be any different?"

"We aren't," Victoire said, "We'll all do well, we'll all go on to do whatever it is that we want, and we won't fail out of Hogwarts. You lot worry too much."

Alexa rolled her eyes, "Speak for yourself."

Monica shook her head, "You're all insane. I hope you know that."

"One hundred percent," Jade said, "I can't help but wonder why you talk to us."

"Well, considering that we used to think that you were beyond barmy," Molly said, "I suppose you must've rubbed off on us." She laughed as Jade rolled her eyes, "What? It's true."

"Of course it is," Jade said.

Victoire laughed, only to stop as she heard a shout.

"TEDDY LUPIN."

She turned around to see Teddy stand up from where he had been sitting underneath a tree some distance away as Olivia approached him. The seventh-year girl grabbed his hand and began to tug him along behind her, as he laughed and attempted to shove his books further into his bag with one hand. Once he had succeeded, he jogged away with Olivia, who was talking animatedly, although Victoire couldn't hear any of their conversation.

"Hmm," Molly said, watching the pair leave, "Interesting."

"I'll say," Alexa said, narrowing her eyes slightly.

Victoire rolled her eyes, "Can we _please _not start this again? Clearly, he's doing alright, and I'd really enjoy an afternoon of not having to feel guilty, you know?'

Alexa sighed, "Yeah, sorry."

Monica shook her head, "You lot are completely insane."

"Someone has to be," Jade said, shrugging.

They remained there in the grounds for a while. The spring sun hung high in the sky, and the school was warmer than it had been in months. Student morale had increased dramatically as the sun was out more and more, and everyone was getting the itch for the holidays. However, as Molly so often reminded them, they had to get through O.W.L.s first, and those were more important than anything else at the moment, so they should really pay attention and keep working until the end of the year. Victoire couldn't find it in herself to disagree with her cousin, who tended to be right about such things. The weather was gorgeous, and it was ten times easier to study outside where it was warm and bright. The sky was one of Victoire's favorite shades of blue, and it relaxed her to be out under the sun, which might have come from living on the beach, but she wasn't about to analyze it. The year was almost over, and while it had been absolutely mental, she supposed it could have been worse.

"Dinner?" Ben asked, swooping down from the sky.

Monica nodded, "Sounds good, I'm pretty hungry."

"Me too," Victoire said, stretching and shutting her book, "It's been too long since lunch."

"So that means the game's over then?" Danny asked.

"Not yet," Sam said. He chucked the ball across a tree branch that was serving as their goal, and then grinned, "Now it's over, and I believe that breaks the tie. We win."

Danny narrowed his eyes, "You're going down next time, Edwards."

"If there is a next time," Sam said, chuckling, "We all know you'll want to be on my team from now on."

"Be as that may," Danny said, "I'll defeat you in something. Eventually."

"Keep telling yourself that," Sam said, clapping the younger boy on the shoulder, "Now, I believe it's dinner time."

The entire group went inside, laughing. Danny and Victoire parted at the doors of the Great Hall with a quick kiss, Monica and Ben doing the same a short distance away. The two boys went to the tables of their respective houses, and the rest of the bunch went to their usual spot as the Gryffindor table. Teddy and Olivia were already there, deep in conversation, and they barely looked up when everyone else sat down.

"Barely over a month left now," Sam said, his eyes wide as he looked around the Great Hall, "It's hard to believe, it feels like it was yesterday that we were in here getting sorted and hoping we'd end up in the house we wanted."

"Are you happy with how things turned out?" Victoire asked.

"Definitely," Sam said, "While there's a few tweaks that need to be made, my life is pretty damn good right now."

"I'd certainly hope so," Molly said, grinning at him.

Jake chuckled, "Please tell me that we're not going to get all crazy sentimental when Liam, Danny, Ben, and I leave next year."

"I'm not going to make promises I can't keep," Victoire said, smiling.

"Neither will I," Jade said, ruffling her boyfriend's hair, "Besides, it's not like you're going to go that far away."

"I guess," Jake said, "Not for a little while, at least."

"It's strange, how quickly time passes," Alexa said, her eyes unfocused as she looked at the wall, "We've been here for five years, and it feels like nothing, and we'll be married with kids soon enough, and then they'll come here, and go through all of this themselves, and we'll watch them grow up and have their own children, and then we'll die, and it'll start all over again."

"You're right, it is weird," Monica said.

Victoire gave a half-smile, "As a very wise man once told Uncle Harry, and Uncle Harry once told me, '_To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.'_"

"We've got a while yet till we have to think about that though," Liam said, "Let's not rush into anything, shall we?"

"So it goes," Alexa said, "I'm just looking forward to having a summer of freedom."

"Same," Molly said, "Except for Dad being, well, Dad, but there's not much I can do about that."

"I'll get Mum to tell him that you can stay with us," Victoire said, "He won't argue with her. He's afraid of her."

"I think he's afraid of all of the Weasley women, honestly," Sam said, "I know I am."

Molly ruffled his hair, "And it's the wisest decision that you've ever made."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Most of the time."

They spent the rest of dinner laughing and talking, and Victoire went back to studying afterwards with a wide smile on her face.

The end of lunch the next afternoon found her settled on a couch in the common room, deeply immersed in the book that she held. The common room was empty, with virtually everyone in the library or somewhere else quiet so that they could study for exams. It was raining outside, and the windows shook with the crash of thunder. It didn't bother her very much. She knew April weather would give through for May soon enough, and then it would be warm and pleasant for a long time, especially considering that her mum had written a few days previous to let her know that they were going to holiday in France for a couple of weeks at the end of July. Her birthday was also under a week away, and she would be one year closer to being of age and able to do magic and Apparate outside of school. It couldn't come soon enough.

Alexa joined her soon after lunch, sitting down on the other end of the couch. Victoire raised her eyebrows at the sight of her best friend, "Where's everyone else?"

Alexa shrugged, "Monica and Ben went somewhere, Jade had a meeting with Professor Alverat, and Molly wanted to go talk to Professor Longbottom about something and then to the library with Jade, so I have no idea when the rest of them will get back here."

Victoire nodded slowly, "Alright." She turned her gaze back to her book.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, Alexa spoke, "I'm really, really, really sorry, Vic."

Victoire made a non-committal sound, not looking up from her book.

"Seriously, I am," Alexa said, "I didn't really trust your judgment, and I should have. You seem like you're doing a lot better, and while Teddy certainly isn't fine, he seems to be coping fairly well. I still think that you should talk to him, but that's your business, not mine, and I don't want to pry."

Victoire looked up from her book to see her best friend watching her sadly. She smiled slightly, "It's alright, Lexa, I know you were just looking out for me."

"Not that you really need it," Alexa said, smiling.

"I do, sometimes," Victoire said, "Just not with this."

Alexa laughed, "Not with this, no."

"You and Liam okay?" Victoire asked.

"Good, yeah," Alexa said, "We had a fight a couple of weeks ago, but we're over it now. They're happening less often, thankfully. I really don't like fighting with him."

"You're going to marry him," Victoire said, turning a page in her book and ignoring her best friend's shocked expression, "I'll go with… Four years after we graduate."

"I'm not getting married when I'm twenty-one," Alexa said.

"You say that now, but there's always time for you to change your mind," Victoire said, grinning.

"Oh, shut up," Alexa said.

"No can do, kid," Victoire said.

Alexa rolled her eyes, "Yeah right."

They continued their banter for a while longer, falling into the wordplay with the ease of two people who knew each other inside and out, and they only stopped with the arrival of an unforeseen guest. Victoire looked up at the sound of a small cough, and she had to fight from letting her mouth drop.

Olivia Wells stood before them, her tie loosened and her dark hair falling in waves around her shoulders. She was smiling pleasantly, and Victoire would be lying if she said the older girl wasn't beautiful.

"Can we help?" Alexa said.

"I just had a question for Victoire, that's all," Olivia said.

Victoire tensed, "Yes?"

"I know you were friends with Teddy Lupin for a while," Olivia said, "I didn't know it was his birthday until after it happened, and I want to ask my mum to pick up a gift for me and send it here so that I can give it to him. I don't really know what to get him, and I was hoping that you might be able to help me figure something out."

Victoire clenched her teeth before she spoke, "Um…" A prod from Alexa made her bite back her retort, and she smiled painfully instead, "Uh, yeah. He likes Quidditch, maybe get him something to do with that?"

Olivia's smile widened, "I didn't really think of that. Thank you, Victoire."

Victoire nodded slightly, "No problem."

She exhaled loudly once the seventh-year left the empty common room. Alexa shook her head.

"You're going to keep getting that every time he gets a new girlfriend, you do realize that, right?"

Victoire's eyes widened, and she groaned, "Merlin, can we just erase me from everyone's memory now?"

"I don't think so, sorry," Alexa said, "It's not that simple, unfortunately."

"I'll say," Victoire said.

In the Great Hall three days later, Victoire watched as Olivia gave Teddy a gift. She snickered to herself as she saw him open the package and pull out a pair of… Keeper's gloves.

"Nice," Alexa said, nodding her head in the direction of the two seventh years.

"I shouldn't laugh," Victoire said, "It was sweet of her to want to give him something, but I can't help but wonder what he's going to do with them."

"It's Teddy, he'll figure something out," Monica said.

"He _always_ figures something out," Molly said.

They were watching again twenty minutes later when Teddy hurriedly shoved them into Liam's hands when Olivia wasn't looking. Liam started to protest, only to stop when Teddy muttered something, turned the sixth year, and pushed him back in the direction of the girls.

Liam shoved the gloves into his bag and shook his head, coming to a halt in front of Alexa, "Well then."

"What did he say?" Jade asked.

"Something about how he didn't want to be mean and take them because he didn't know what to do with them," Liam said, "Didn't really give me a chance to protest, so it looks like I've got a new pair of Keeping gloves. Again. This is the fourth pair of new ones I've gotten from various people this year, I really don't need them."

"Sell them," Alexa said, shrugging, "There's that used Quidditch shop in Diagon Alley, I'm sure they would take them. It's not like they've ever been used. You could probably return them to the shop, actually. It's a wonder Teddy didn't think of that."

"Not really," Victoire said, rolling her eyes, "He never knew what to do with presents people gave him that he honestly didn't want, it's not a wonder that he isn't any different now."

"Whatever," Jade said, shrugging, "He got rid of them in a way that kept him from hurting Olivia's feelings, someone will get some sort of use out of them, and no one's mad. It worked out pretty well, if you ask me."

"It's just a pair of gloves, it's not that big of a deal," Molly said. She winced as the rest of the group turned to stare at her incredulously, "I said something wrong, didn't I?"

"Merlin, Molly, for someone who comes from a family as Quidditch-mad as ours is, you'd think that you'd know that any sort of Quidditch equipment is a big deal," Victoire said.

"I suppose, yeah, and I get why Alexa and Liam are shocked by that remark, but Monica and Jade? Really? You two don't even play," Molly said.

Monica rolled her eyes, "No, but I announce, and trust me, you need to enjoy the game and know something about it in order to do that." She elbowed Victoire and Alexa, "Plus, I've been around these two Quidditch-obsessed ninnies for long enough to learn something."

Jade laughed, "My cousin's really into it, that's why I know a bit about it, and dating Jake helps with that too."

Molly shook her head, "I still don't understand it… I guess this is where my relation to Dad becomes obvious, huh?"

"I'll say," Victoire said, "Uncle Percy's the only one of the bunch that never loved Quidditch that much. Dad might not have played that much, but he grew up chasing Charlie around on a broom, so he's still got some fondness for it, and Grandmum put up with it for the sake of the kids, so it's not like she's not familiar with it either. Your dad's the odd one out, Molls."

"To my detriment," Molly said, shaking her head again, "Oh well, I tried."

"That's all you can do sometimes," Liam said.

Sam arrived a few minutes later with Jake, and the entire group moved to sit down at the Gryffindor table, helping themselves to some lunch.

"Well, that's that then," Sam said, sighing.

"What's what?" Victoire asked, looking at him.

"No letter," Sam said, his shoulders slumping, "They were supposed to let me know if I had gotten on to Puddlemere by today, and it should have come at breakfast, but it didn't, so I guess I've got some job searching to do."

"It could just be late," Molly said, "Don't get down about it just yet."

"I guess," Sam said, "But I don't see them being late with something like this, it wouldn't be very professional, and Quidditch team managers are _always_ professional."

"You'll figure it out," Monica said, "You're Samuel Edwards, you always figure things out."

"It'll be fine, Sam," Alexa said, "Liam can pull some strings, huh?"

Sam shook his head, "I'd rather get on for talent than because I'm mates with the son of one of the best Keepers the team has ever seen. I'll manage… Somehow."

Victoire was just opening her mouth to change the subject to something lighter when she snapped it shut again, her eyes widening.

Bradley laughed, "Oh, calm down, Victoire. It's just me."

The entire Great Hall had fallen silent, turning to stare at the stranger who stood behind Sam at the Gryffindor table. The seventh year's head slumped down, and he didn't even turn to look and see what everyone was staring at.

"Sam Edwards, right?" Bradley asked.

Sam's head rose, "Yeah."

"I'm Bradley Pierce."

Sam turned around, his eyes wide, "_The _Bradley Pierce?"

Bradley chuckled, "I guess you could say that. I'm sorry Ian didn't send a letter, I just figured that I'd come and let you know that we'd love to welcome you to the Puddlemere Quidditch team. You've got some of the greatest Beater skills we've seen from fresh talent in years, so I thought that as captain, I should come and welcome you personally."

Sam's mouth dropped, "I- Uh-"

"What the idiot means to say is yes," Molly said, rolling her eyes.

"That," Sam said, his eyes still wide.

Bradley laughed and held out his hand, "Welcome to Puddlemere United."

Sam shook the older man's hand in awe, "Thank you."

"I expect to see you at practice on July first," Bradley said, "Until then, best of luck with school and your N.E.W.T.s, not that you really need them now. Nice to see you, Liam. Say hello to your dad for me."

"Will do," Liam said, grinning, "Let the team know I'll be by for practice this summer."

"Just let me know when you want to come, and I'll make the arrangements," Bradley said, "I've got to get back to Melissa now, I kind of left her in the middle of lunch without telling her where I was going, but I'll give her a hello from the lot of you. See you later, pipsqueak."

Bradley smiled as Liam rolled his eyes, and then strode out of the Great Hall. The Puddlemere captain was whistling, and his hands were tucked casually into his pockets, his footsteps echoing in the still-silent room. As soon as the doors shut behind him, the entire population of the room began to talk loudly. Molly laughed and rubbed Sam's back as the seventh year continued to stare at the spot where Bradley had just stood, still in shock.

"Well, looks like you don't need to worry about anything now," Molly said, "I can't wait to tell everyone that I'm dating the newest Puddlemere addition. You know, once we actually tell my father and give him about ten years to cool down about it."

Sam managed to laugh at that, "He's going to kill me, isn't he?"

"Only if he finds out," Molly said, going back to her lunch, "Which is why he won't find out until we get married, if we make it that far."

Liam chuckled, "I don't think it'll be that big a deal, but congrats, Sam."

"Thanks," Sam said, a wide smile coming on to his face, "This is… I didn't expect it, that's for sure. That was Bradley Pierce. I don't even know what to say right now."

"He's cool," Victoire said, eating a chip, "I met him back at the first match this year. Mel brought him and introduced us, he's brilliant."

"What's Mel got to do with him?" Sam asked.

"They're dating," Liam said, "Have been for a while, actually. It's funny."

"They're definitely quite the pair," Alexa said.

Jade was grinning when she spoke, "He's cute."

"And taken," Monica said.

"You're taken," Jake said, looking pointedly at his girlfriend.

Jade waved her hand absentmindedly in his direction, "Not much harm in looking, is there?"

Jake rolled his eyes, "I guess not."

Victoire laughed, "Well, looks like we'll be able to get even more free tickets to Puddlemere than we could before, now that we have a direct connection. No more having to get your dad to give my dad some, Liam."

"He'll enjoy that," Liam said, "He can spread his around more. Besides, current players get more free tickets per season than the management do."

"Unfortunately," Monica said, "Puddlemere games are the best."

"You'll just have to come to my first one," Sam said, "It should be before the end of the summer, and if it's not…"

"If it's not, we'll get Professor McGonagall to let us go," Molly said, "She will, everyone in the school knows how important this is to you, and she's always had a soft spot for Quidditch players."

"It's why Uncle Harry didn't get expelled for flying when he shouldn't have his first year," Victoire said, shrugging, "He got a spot on the team instead."

"The point is, she'll let us go," Liam said, "I wouldn't worry about it, we'll be there one way or another."

"We will," Alexa said firmly.

"Definitely," Jade said.

With that good news firmly rooted in their minds, they finished their lunch and went about the rest of their day, smiling the whole time.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Well, I miscounted in the last chapter. I'm pretty sure there's three chapters left after this one. I just have to write the one that falls during O.W.L.s week, and then make a couple changes to the final chapter, which I've already written, but then the entire story will be done and I'll move on to the sequel (Though I may post the first chapter and then wait a couple weeks to post the second, just so that I give myself time to write a stash and get my schoolwork done).**

**Early upload for you lot, I kind of want to finish writing the story and then just post the whole thing, because I'm so, so close to being done with it, which is weird for me, because I almost never finish stories.**

**But just to make things clear, there will be a sequel, which will be part of the summer, and Victoire's sixth year, and then quite possibly a threequel which will encompass her seventh year and possibly a bit beyond that.**

**I'm still enjoying the story, and I'm excited to move on to the sequel, because it's really going to solidify things.**

**Just remember, this** **_is_** **a Teddy/Victoire fanfiction.**

**It's just a fanfiction that comes in multiple parts.**

**Thanks for all the reviews, and I'll talk to you all again when I post the next chapter (And quite possibly the rest of them).**

**Peace and love x**

**~AC**


	20. Chapter 20

May 2nd, 2016 dawned warm and sunny, the perfect setting for Victoire's sixteenth birthday.

She was woken just past seven by the sounds of people singing.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUU," they finished. She opened her eyes to see Alexa, Monica, Jade, and Molly standing there, grinning at her.

"Do we have to do this now?" Victoire groaned, rubbing her eyes.

"Yes," Monica said.

"Absolutely," Jade said.

Victoire groaned again and rolled over.

"I don't want to wake up," she said, her voice muffled by the pillow she was pressing her face into.

"You're already awake, so that's too bad," Alexa said, "Come on, kid."

When Victoire failed to respond, Molly grabbed her cousin and yanked her into a sitting position, "Come on, it's not that bad. Think about it, it's your birthday, you're sixteen, there's only about a month until school is over… I think everything is pretty good, if you ask me."

"Yeah, but O.W.L.s are in three weeks, and I'm nowhere near ready yet," Victoire said, finally forcing herself to stand, "Besides, you know how things get on May second."

Molly rolled her eyes, "Let everyone else worry about that. Today is about you, as far as we're concerned, and people shouldn't forget about you just because of what happened almost twenty years ago."

Victoire shrugged, "I don't really blame them, today's kind of a big day for the Wizarding world… The end of Voldemort's tyranny and all of that."

"It's a big day for the Wizarding world because it's the day you were born," Alexa said, "Now come on and get dressed, it's time for breakfast."

"But effort," Victoire said.

Jade shook her head and threw one of Victoire's uniforms at her, "Get dressed."

Victoire finally managed to dress herself five minutes later, and they went down to breakfast together. Chelsea caught her in a huge hug at the Gryffindor table.

"Happy birthday!"

Victoire smiled, "Thanks, Chels."

Chelsea grinned, "It's not every day that the eldest Weasley turns sixteen. Come on, we have presents."

She took Victoire's hand and tugged the younger girl towards Sam and Liam.

"You guys didn't have to," Victoire said, "I really don't need anything, it's okay."

Chelsea rolled her eyes, "We wanted to."

"Still, you didn't have to," Victoire said.

Sam shook his head, "It's your birthday, we want to spoil you. We only get this chance once a year, so don't begrudge us."

"Now sit," Alexa said, pushing her gently onto the bench.

"I don't know what to say to you guys," Victoire said, looking at the pile of gifts that sat in front of her.

"Say nothing," Monica said, "I dislike it when people express their gratitude, it disgusts me. We're allowed to spoil you."

Victoire laughed at that, and set to work carefully opening her presents.

"So who gave me things?" Victoire asked.

"Well," Molly said, "Me, Monica, Jade and Jake gave you something together, Lex, Sam, Liam, and then Nick and Chelsea gave you a collective thing. I'm pretty sure Danny's giving you your present later."

Victoire nodded, "Well, thanks a million guys, this stuff is great. I definitely wasn't expecting anything."

"Like Sam said, we want to spoil you," Chelsea said.

Victoire laughed, "Well, if it makes you happy…"

They continued to talk for a while longer before Professor McGonagall stood.

"I trust that you all know that today is a very important day for the Wizarding world," she said, "It is the eighteenth anniversary of what has been deemed the Battle of Hogwarts by some, and the Final Battle by others. Regardless, it was the day that won freedom from the tyranny and oppression of Lord Voldemort, right in this very room. As such, there may be some visitors here today, as many have family on the monument and wish to come and pay their respects. We ask that you all stay on your best behaviour and try not to do anything particularly stupid. Thank you."

The Headmistress sat down. Victoire bit her lip and ate, ignoring the murmurs and glances that were coming from the other tables.

"They never stop, do they?" Jake asked, looking around at the other tables.

"Never," Victoire said.

"I mean, I know why they don't, but it's still kind of annoying," Molly said, "You'd think they'd be over it by now, it's only been eighteen years."

"They'll need a long time to get over it," Sam said, "It's a pretty big deal, the fact that your aunts and uncles were basically the force that saved the Wizarding world. They'll move on eventually, once something else big happens, but this is what you're going to have to deal with for a while."

"We'll get used to it eventually," Victoire said, "I guess."

"And until then, I can make everyone jealous by saying I'm best friends with two Weasleys," Alexa said, grinning.

Victoire rolled her eyes, "Yeah, you can do that, if it makes you happy."

The collective laugh that came from the rest of the group was enough to turn the gazes away from the Weasley girls, and Victoire finished her breakfast in peace.

In Herbology later that day, Professor Longbottom passed Victoire a bar of Honeydukes chocolate with a wink. She smiled at him and accepted it, tucking it carefully into her bag on top of her school books.

The walk back to the castle found her spinning, arms outstretched, the May sun beating down on her with an intensity that set her hair glowing gold as it flew out behind her. Her lips were parted slightly, and she turned her face to the sun, closing her eyes against its glare.

"_Come on, Tori, it's fun!"_

_A seven-year old Victoire shook her head and crossed her arms, "No, Teddy, I'll get dizzy!"_

_He was sporting royal blue hair at the time, and it contrasted heavily with his hazel eyes, "No you won't, Tori, I promise."_

"_You swear?" Victoire asked._

"_I do," Teddy said._

_She uncrossed her arms, "Okay, but if I get dizzy, it's your fault!"_

"_Understood," Teddy said._

_They went up to the top of the bluff behind Shell Cottage, and began to spin, slowly at first, and then faster and faster. When Victoire opened her eyes, she sat down on the grass and smiled widely at Teddy, "That was fun!"_

"_I told you it would be," Teddy said, sitting down beside her._

They had spent the rest of that afternoon lying there on top of the bluff, pointing out shapes in the clouds to one another.

After a few minutes, she opened her eyes and continued back up to the castle, her friends following close behind. They said nothing about what she had done, and she didn't bring it up as they headed off to Transfiguration.

Danny found her after classes, and he greeted her with a swift kiss and a smile, "Want to go for a walk?"

She smiled back at him, "I'd love to."

They left the castle with their hands clasped, and headed down to the shore of the lake. Sunlight was glinting off the water, turning blue-green to gold.

"Happy birthday," Danny said, kissing her hair as they walked along the lake.

"Thank you," she said, squeezing his hand gently, "It's been an interesting day."

"I heard that Professor Longbottom gave you some chocolate," he said, grinning.

She laughed, "Yeah, he gives me a bar from Honeydukes every year. He gives all of us chocolate on our birthdays, it's quite nice of him, actually. The man must spend a fortune on it, there's so many of us, but he's never failed to give it to one of us yet, so maybe he gets it wholesale or something."

"I suppose he's awfully close to the family then?" Danny asked.

Victoire nodded, "He fought with Aunt Hermione, Aunt Ginny, Uncle Ron, and Uncle Harry, and they've stayed really good friends with him over the years, not that it's really all that surprising since they've known him so long. He comes to a lot of the parties and things, same with Luna. They're kind of honorary family members, we all love them, they're our aunt and uncle by experiences if not by blood. He struggles a bit with the line between uncle and teacher, honestly, but it's never really gotten anyone into trouble, so Professor McGonagall lets it go. She struggles with it a bit too, but it's to be expected. Most of it goes to Uncle Harry, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Hermione, because they were her students and getting into trouble while she was the head of Gryffindor, so she's got more incentive to be all motherly when it comes to them, not that she'd ever admit it to anybody. I don't think I'd want her to, honestly, it would be a bit frightening."

"I guess there's a lot of ties to you lot," Danny said, "You've got practically the entire faculty on your side at this point, don't you?"

Victoire shrugged, "Sometimes. Other times, not so much. They've all tried really hard to not favor us, which makes me happy, since I want to know that I've earned whatever I get. I don't like to be handed things just because of my last name."

"That makes perfect sense," Danny said, nodding, "It's odd, this is the first year that today has meant anything to me besides the anniversary."

"This usually doesn't mean anything but the anniversary to most people," Victoire said, "I'm sure that there's a lot of people I know around here somewhere, amongst all the people that started showing up around lunch to go to the memorial. I'm pretty much used to it at this point, the end of the war is much more important than my birthday."

"You can't honestly believe that," Danny said.

"I do," Victoire said, shrugging again, "It was a big day for the Wizarding world, I'm not going to deny them the ability to mourn and celebrate just because I was born today. It's not like I don't live with it, I mean, even my name is a memorial."

"How so?" Danny asked, looking at her.

"Victoire means victory in French," Victoire said, "My parents named me for what was won on May 2nd, in honour of the battle and the fighting that occurred today. They didn't just name me Victoire for the fun of it."

"That's… Poetic," Danny said.

"It happens," Victoire said, smiling.

They approached the memorial not long after, and Victoire's eyes widened at the sight that it was empty, rather than full of people as she had expected.

"You go ahead back to the castle," Victoire said, once they got a bit closer, "I need a few minutes."

Danny pressed a small package into her hand and nodded, "Alright. See you later, I guess."

She tucked the present into her pocket as she stepped up to the memorial, a low, white marble wall that ran along the edge of the Forbidden Forest for a short distance. Once Danny was gone, she made her way along the wall until she found the name she was looking for. She knelt down beside the stone and sighed.

"Miss you, Uncle Fred," she whispered, tracing the letters of his name with careful fingers, "I know we've got your portraits, but it's not quite the same thing. I know Grandmum wishes you were still here, and Uncle George too. Especially Uncle George. Nothing is quite right for him, and I know he's done everything that he could to build himself a life that didn't have you in it, but he was still in the rough years when I was little, and I know he always misses you. The family isn't complete without you, and it never will be. I love you, even though we never really met."

She kissed her fingers and then pressed them to his name, and then made her way down the wall until she came to the two names she was looking for.

"_Remus and Nymphadora Lupin,"_ Victoire read. She settled herself on the ground, "Hi, Remus, Tonks. I know it's a bit presumptuous of me to be here talking to you right now, but I don't know what else to do. Things aren't going so well for Teddy and me any longer, but we're all still watching him, and he'll always have a place in our family. He won't be able to get rid of us so easily, much as he might think that he can. I just need space right now, but I'll always keep an eye on him, and I'm sure you know that. It's been hard, and I know things aren't the same for Uncle Harry. He misses you both a lot, I can tell when he looks at Teddy. He gets this look in his eyes, like he's seeing something that should be, but isn't, and I know it's the two of you watching your son grow up. We all know all about you, the stories all include you, but I know that he wishes you were here instead of just kept in pictures and words. They've tried so hard to make sure that they aren't shielding us from things that we need to know, but sometimes I wonder if it would be better if none of us knew the stories, if Teddy didn't grow up hearing that his mother and father were war heroes who died to give him a better life. I suppose I'll never know, will I?"

She sat there in silence for a few moments, only to vault behind the wall at the sight of Teddy coming down the hill from the castle, the sunlight glinting off of his hair. It was with great care that she crouched down on her hands and knees, and then settled into a sitting position against the wall, careful to keep out of sight.

She heard him on the other side, his footsteps audible on the dry ground. It hadn't rained in a while, and the grounds were showing the signs with brittle grass and dull leaves.

"Hi Mum, Dad," he muttered. She heard the sound of crunching grass, and she knew he had sat down, "Eighteen years, huh?"

Victoire stifled a gasp at the sound of his voice. He sounded broken, more than she would have ever expected him to be. Teddy Lupin didn't break easily, he never had, and she didn't know what to do with the information she had just received.

"Things have been absolutely mad around here," he said, sighing, "You know how I told you about Victoire, when I came back after Christmas? Well, she and I aren't really speaking anymore. I want to fix things, but I don't really know what to do about it except give her space. She's still wearing your bracelet, Mum, so I'm hoping that means we'll be able to reconcile eventually, but I guess I'll find out. N.E.W.T.s are in a couple of weeks, and I'm studying like mad. I'm determined to become an Auror, but you both knew that already. Harry always tells me that I got the studiousness from you, Dad, and I hope he's right. I know I've really messed some things up this year, but I hope you're still proud of me anyway. I've been trying really hard to live up to the Lupin name, and I don't really know if I have or not. It seems like I screw up everything that I want to get right, so I'm really hoping that N.E.W.T.s and becoming an Auror become exceptions to the rule. There's not much I can say that the two of you don't know, but I just… I wish you were here, so that I could ask you for advice during times like these, because there's no one I can really talk to about it. I've been trying to respect Tori's wishes, and I haven't even told Uncle Harry yet. It's a bit late to start now, but better late than never, right?"

There was silence for a while, and then a final whisper from Teddy, "Bye, Mum, Dad. I love you."

He stood and walked away. Victoire waited for a long time before she stood up and vaulted over the wall. She traced the names of Teddy's parents with her fingers, noting how smooth the edges had become over the years, before sighing and starting back to the castle.

She entered the common room to see everyone gathered around the fireplace, part way through a game of Exploding Snap. Molly raised her eyebrows at the sight of her cousin.

"What's wrong?"

Victoire shook her head and sat down, "It's nothing, it's just… Nothing."

"If you say so," Monica said, eyeing her friend carefully.

"Don't worry about it," Victoire said, "It's my thing, it'll be fine."

"Your things haven't been going so great this year," Alexa said, pulling all the cards back towards herself and stacking the deck, "You're absolutely sure that you're alright?"

"When am I ever sure about that?" Victoire asked, locking gazes with Alexa. She sighed a moment later and dropped her eyes, "I'll be fine. Seriously."

"If you say so," Alexa said, shuffling the cards and setting them back on the table.

"So, what'd Danny give you?" Jade asked, after a few moments of silence.

Victoire shrugged, "I don't know, I haven't opened it yet. I kind of forgot about it, I won't lie."

"Well, open it then," Monica said, "I want to see what pretty boy gave you for your birthday. It'd better be something good."

"I'm sure it is, Mon," Victoire said, "He's been very careful to pay attention to things that I like."

She leaned forward and pulled the small package out of her pocket. As usual, she unwrapped it with great care to find a small box. She opened it to find a silver necklace with a tiny crescent moon charm hanging from it.

"Um…" Victoire said, looking at it. She looked up at Alexa, who had gasped.

"I… Vic, you can't," Alexa said, her grey eyes wide.

Victoire sighed and shut the box, setting it on the table. She pushed it away from her, "I know."

"What are you going to do about it?" Molly asked.

"I don't know," Victoire said, rubbing her temples, "Tell him I'm saving it for something really, really, really special, I guess. I don't know. I'm certainly not going to tell him the truth, am I?"

"You shouldn't, no," Alexa said, "I'm all for the truth when it comes to most things, but with this… I don't know if he'd really understand, so yeah, I'd go with saying nothing. It's not like it's the kind of thing your boyfriend would want to hear, regardless of what state your other relationship is in."

"I don't get it," Jade said, looking between her four friends, "What's the problem?"

Victoire murmured an inaudible phrase, her gaze locked on the bracelet that rested on her wrist.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you," Jade said.

"Love you to the moon and back," Victoire said, raising her gaze to her friends' faces.

"What do you mean by that?" Jade asked, tilting her head slightly.

Alexa sighed, "It's what she and Teddy have always said to each other, ever since they were kids. It's their thing, always has been. She won't wear anything that has to do with the moon if Teddy doesn't give it to her, and he's the same way. We've all grown to accept it and it's not something that we think about any longer, honestly. That's just one of their things, and we're all used to it by now."

"It was about his father as much as anything," Victoire said, her voice quiet, "He was a werewolf and all, you all know that story, and it kind of became a way to let Teddy know that I loved him as much as his father would have, and also that I really didn't care about what his father was. I just… Whether I'm speaking to him or not, I can't wear this." She began to play with the wolf charm on her bracelet, biting her lip.

"You're still wearing the bracelet," Monica said, her gaze traveling to her friend's wrist, "I didn't really notice."

"It was his mum's," Victoire said, "I just… Never saw a reason to take it off."

"Nor should you," Alexa said, "You two were close for a long, long time, and there's no reason to say that you won't be close again eventually. Plus, it was his mum's, like you said, and if the stories that I've heard about her are true, she would have wanted you to have it for everything you did for Teddy since you were kids."

Victoire nodded, "I guess you're right. But what do I do about Danny's present? I don't want to be rude, but I honestly can't wear it, it wouldn't be right at all. There are some traditions that I'm just not willing to break, and this is one of them."

Alexa shrugged, "I honestly don't know if there's a delicate way to go about this, Vic. He clearly thought about it a lot, because hardly anyone knows that you have a thing about the moon, but he didn't think about it enough, or he would have known that you're extremely specific about who can give you things relating to it."

"Send it home," Molly said, "I don't literally mean you should send it home, put it in the bottom of your trunk instead, but tell him that you sent it home because you were worried it might end up damaged or stolen."

"That could actually work," Victoire said, her eyes widening, "Great idea, Molls."

"What can I say, I tend to have them from time to time," Molly said, shrugging.

"This is too depressing for a birthday," Monica said after a moment's pause, "I vote we go and do something."

"Like what?" Molly asked, "We still have O.W.L.s coming, it's not going to be warm enough to go swimming for another few weeks, and in case you've forgotten, only two of us are actually any good at Quidditch, so that's out too."

Monica shrugged, "I don't know, I'm sure we can think of something."

"We could just go for a walk around the school," Jade said, "There's not really any reason to sit around, and I really don't feel like studying right now."

"I don't think any of us feel like studying right now," Victoire said, "I like the walk idea."

"Works for me," Alexa said.

Once Alexa had stuffed the deck of cards into her pocket, they headed out of the common room and into the corridors.

"Remember second year, when Sam and Teddy thought it would be a great idea to get Peeves to drop water balloons on the heads of every person that came for the memorial service?" Alexa asked, as they passed the Great Hall.

Victoire laughed, "Professor McGonagall was so angry, but she ended up letting them off for lightening up what could have otherwise been a very depressing and dull day."

"I'm just glad Sam and Teddy have formed an alliance with him," Molly said, shuddering, "That way we don't have to deal with him. The things he's done to other kids…"

"You mean, like pulling the rug out from under Marjorie Kennington's feet our third year?" Monica asked.

"Yeah, but she kind of deserved it," Alexa said, "She was honestly one of the meanest people I've ever met, and that's saying something."

Victoire made a face, "I forgot about her. Probably just because I forced myself to block out the memories."

"She never liked us very much, did she?" Molly asked.

"Nope," Victoire said, "I can't imagine why, it's not like we were old enough for her to have thing for Sam or Teddy."

"You never know," Monica said, shrugging, "Once they hit about fifteen, lots of girls had crushes on them, even the seventh years."

"I don't even want to think about Marjorie Kennington having a crush on my boyfriend," Molly said, "Gross."

"Sam would never go for her in a million years," Jade said.

"So you're over him then?" Monica asked.

Jade rolled her eyes, "I've been over him for a while. Victoire said some things that really made me think about what I was choosing to do with my life, and I realized how stupid I was being. Plus, I have Jake now."

"You two are much better suited than he and I ever were," Victoire said, "I'm glad you're happy with one another, it makes me feel like less of a git for what I did to him."

"I'd hazard a guess that he's over it," Alexa said, "Seeing as he and Jade are well on their way to planning their wedding."

Jade's mouth dropped, "Oh, shut up."

Alexa grinned, "Never."

Victoire laughed, "You lot are absolutely mental."

"And yet you still spend time with us," Monica said, "Vic, honey, if we were that mental, you wouldn't be spending time around us any longer."

"She's more insane than the rest of us, that's why she's still here," Molly said.

"What is this, beat up on the birthday girl time?" Victoire asked, "Maybe I should just go back to the common room if you're all going to be mean to me."

"Someone's being a drama queen," Monica sang.

Victoire rolled her eyes, "Someone's got to do it, and seeing as you don't seem to be filling your normal role…"

Monica gasped, "I'm so hurt."

"I'm sure you'll survive," Jade said, "Well, Vic, looks like you can stop, she's returned to her usual role."

Victoire laughed, "Good, being overdramatic is exhausting."

Molly chuckled, "You lot are completely ridiculous."

"Yeah, but you love us, so it's okay," Alexa said.

"Most of the time," Molly said, grinning.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jade asked.

"Oh, nothing," Molly said, "Don't worry your pretty little head about it."

Victoire laughed at the shocked expressions on her friends' faces.

They continued to venture about the school for the rest of the evening, and it was the first time in weeks that Victoire had spent any quality time with the girls that didn't involve any of their boyfriends. They wandered through the corridors, reminiscing about a prank that was pulled in one location, or the time they stumbled upon a snogging couple in another. Instead of going to the Great Hall for supper, they went to the kitchens, and by the time they made it back to Gryffindor Tower, Victoire's sides hurt from laughing. When they finally went to bed, it was with light hearts and smiles on their faces.

* * *

**A/N: **

**WELL, I DID IT. THE FINAL CHAPTER HAS BEEN WRITTEN.**

**Also, enjoy the second not-when-it-was-supposed-to-be update. **

**I'll probably post chapter 21 tomorrow, and then I might wait until the end of the week to post the very last chapter (Just to give myself time to do schoolwork and also so that I have time to write the first couple chapters of the sequel, which I'm starting right now).**

**This is a very bizarre feeling, and a long fanfiction, and I'm currently feeling extremely proud of myself. I'm really hoping you guys will enjoy the last two chapters, and follow me to the sequel! I'm still not telling you the title of it, even though I know it already, because it's fun keeping it a secret. I might tell you when I post the last chapter, but who knows...**

**I'm going to go work on the first chapter of the sequel, so PREPARE YOURSELVES.**

**Peace and love x**

**~AC**


	21. Chapter 21

O.W.L.s came with a force that Victoire hadn't even begun to anticipate.

"You ready?" Molly asked, as they traipsed down to breakfast on the morning of their Transfiguration O.W.L.

"Is anyone ever ready?" Victoire asked.

"I don't think so, no," Alexa said, "And somehow, I doubt we'll be exceptions."

"We'll be fine," Monica said, "I think."

"Very reassuring, Monica," Jade said. She grimaced, "I don't know what to make of this, honestly. I hope it goes well."

"Well, there's not much that we can do except for try," Victoire said, "I just hope that things go well, I really need to do well on this or they'll never let me be an Auror."

"We'll get into the Auror program," Alexa said, "I don't think that's something we should really be worrying about. I'm just concerned about living through the next week."

"Just think about it though," Monica said, "Get through this week, and then we're free for three months. We'll do it."

"It's not a question of whether or not we'll do it," Victoire said, "It's a question of how alive we'll be once we're done, because with how I'm feeling at the moment, I'm going to go with not very."

"Like Monica said, we'll have three months to regain our strength," Jade said.

"Yeah, but I'd like to be able to do more in those three months than just regain my strength," Victoire said, "It would be nice to be able to go off and do some things over the holidays, rather than spending them trying to regain my full brain capacity, you know? Besides, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to end up being dragged everywhere by Dom, and I'll also have to babysit Louis, so I'm going to have my hands full and my recovery time will be limited."

"It won't be that bad," Molly said, "Lou will just end up at Uncle Harry's all summer with Albus."

"Yeah, and they'll ask me a million and one questions about school, and I'll be forced to answer them," Victoire said, "You got off easy, Molls, your sister's already here. Al and Lily come up with enough questions to be twenty people, I spend most of my time with them answering pointless things about the dormitory and whatnot."

"They're just excited, that's all," Alexa said, "Can you really blame them? It's _Hogwarts."_

"I mean, I suppose not, but still," Victoire said, "It gets awfully exhausting, and they've heard everything at least five times already, since every new Weasley doesn't shut about school for at least a month after their first year is over."

"I'd be just as curious," Molly said, shrugging, "Besides, we asked our parents every question under the sun before we came."

"I guess," Victoire said, "But back to the real problem here. How in Merlin's name are we going to get through these ridiculous tests?"

They entered the Great Hall, which was shockingly quiet. People were hunched over books and pieces of parchment as they absentmindedly ate their breakfasts, and the usual cacophony of sounds that filled the Great Hall had lessened to a dull roar.

The girls made their way to their usual seats. Sam was sitting there, his Defense Against The Dark Arts book propped up against a jug of marmalade.

"Morning," he said, before turning his gaze back to his book.

"Morning to you too," Molly said, ruffling his hair and sitting down beside him, "Ready for your N.E.W.T.s?"

He groaned, "Don't even talk to me about them, I'm pretty sure I'm about to ruin my life."

"You're already signed to Puddlemere, I think you're good," Victoire said.

"You think I am, that doesn't mean that I actually am," Sam said.

"Are you doubting me?" Victoire asked, "Sam, I'm really offended right now."

Jade rolled her eyes, "You're not going to ruin your life, Sam, it's just some tests, and like Vic said, you're already set for post-Hogwarts. Just be happy that you're not a prospective Auror or Healer who's going to have to wait for results to come in and hope to everything they have that they get the scores they need for the programs that they want to get into. You get your scores, look at them, and then toss them in the bin, it's not like they really matter to you all that much."

"You're playing for Puddlemere next season," Monica said, "You really don't need to worry at all."

Sam made a face, "Point is, these are the culminating event of my Hogwarts career. I'd like to at least do somewhat decently on them, you know?"

"I mean, we want to do at least somewhat decently on our O.W.L.s, but only time will tell," Alexa said, "You'll be perfectly fine though, Sam, you're one of the smartest people in your year and I'm sure you'll achieve a N.E.W.T in every subject that you're testing for."

"I hope to Merlin that you're right," Sam said, "I do have to give Chels and Nick something to live up to, after all."

Molly laughed, "Sam, I'm pretty sure they've got a lot to live up to, whether you do well on your N.E.W.T.s or not."

"She's got a point there," Jade said, "You've set a perfectly good precedent for them already, you don't need to worry about adding to it. Besides, it's their last year next year, it's not as though they've got to live under your legacy for years of their Hogwarts career."

"Unlike the rest of the children of the Weasley-Potter clan, who have to live under Vic and me," Molly said, grinning, "They're going to have a lot of fun with that."

"I'm sure they'll manage," Victoire said, "They've done alright so far."

"Yeah, but we're here to keep them on the straight and narrow," Molly said, "Imagine what things will be like once we're gone."

Victoire rolled her eyes, "I don't know how much we've done to keep them on the straight and narrow, Molls. I mean, think about who you're dating and what he's gotten up to outside of academics and Quidditch during his years at Hogwarts."

"She's right there," Alexa said, "Need I remind you of the fireworks?"

Molly winced, "Right…"

"Point is, Sam, you'll be fine," Victoire said, "And if it should come to pass that you aren't, Molly's going to do perfectly on hers, and she'll provide for you."

Molly rolled her eyes, "Shut up, Vic."

"Not going to happen, sorry," Victoire said, helping herself to some toast.

"I figured," Molly said, sighing, "It was worth a try though, wasn't it?"

"That's debatable," Alexa said, "That's _always_ debatable."

"Listen to Alexa, Molls," Monica said, "The girl knows what she's talking about."

Sam laughed, "You know, for a bunch of people that are supposedly so worried about your O.W.L.s, you're awfully chipper this morning."

"It's our coping mechanism," Jade said, "We act extremely silly and immature in order to ward off the feeling that we're about to completely destroy our futures, it's the best we could come up with on such short notice."

"You've known you would have to take these tests for at least five years," Sam said, raising his eyebrows.

Jade nodded, "Like I said, short notice."

Alexa laughed, "Honestly, Sam, I don't think anything in the world could prepare us for dealing with the stress over these damn things. Whoever figures out a cure won't ever have to worry about their finances ever again."

"You could always just use a portable daydream or eat a bit of Fainting Fancy," Sam said, "Take yourself out of the real world for a little while."

"Yeah, but then we run the risk of being late to or just straight up missing an exam," Victoire said, "Which would in turn up our stress level, hence our lack of use of such things."

Sam shook his head, "I practically lived off those things my fifth year. They kept me sane all through O.W.L.s week. The Snackboxes kept me sane all year, actually."

"I'm sure Uncle George is glad his products are going to such good use," Molly said, "But I'm fairly certain that my dad would skin me alive if he heard I'd so much as thought of taking a bite out of something from a Snackbox. The man take O.W.L.s very seriously."

"Uncle Percy takes _everything_ very seriously," Victoire said, rolling her eyes.

"I honestly think that's the most accurate assessment of your uncle that I've ever heard," Alexa said, "He's nice, but _Merlin_ is he stoic."

"He's loosened up a bit, if what Uncle Harry has said is true," Molly said, "If that's the case, though, I don't even want to _think _about what he was like before."

"I don't think any of us want to," Monica said, shuddering, "I'm pretty sure your dad hates me, Molls."

"He doesn't really hate anyone," Molly said, "Well, aside from the Lestranges and first generation Death Eaters in general. It's mostly that it takes him a long time to form an opinion of people, so he comes off as a bit harsh until he does. As long as you do reasonably well at school, he won't hate you, and you haven't gotten me into any major trouble, so he's not going to be inclined to have a low opinion of you."

"Yeah, most of the times that she's gotten in trouble have been my fault," Victoire said, grinning, "And I'm family, so Uncle Percy can't hate me too much."

"I think you're his favorite, honestly," Molly said, "It's actually kind of mental how excited he is to see you."

"It's because I'm the oldest of the lot of us," Victoire said, shrugging, "It doesn't actually have anything to do with me as a person."

"Keep telling yourself that, Vic," Molly said.

Jade laughed, "Your family's pretty dysfunctional, isn't it?"

Her mouth dropped when the other five in the group turned to her and chorused, "You have no idea."

They found themselves settled in the Great Hall again an hour later, only this time, the room was filled with solitary desks. The O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. level Transfiguration students were split up and settled on opposite sides of the Great Hall for the written portion of their exam, and all that could be heard for nearly three hours was the scraping of quills against parchment.

Victoire met the others out in the entrance hall after the written exam.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Alexa said, "I was anticipating that they were going to ask us about all of those things that we just finished covering right before the exam, but they barely touched on any of them."

Monica shuddered, "I don't want to think about it, I don't want to know, I'd like to forget it ever happened."

"I'm sure you did fine," Jade said, "Besides, we still have the practical portion, I'm sure you can pull it together for that."

"I'm just happy they give us a break between the written and practical exam," Sam said.

Victoire shook her head, "I'm not. You have the advantage of having a last name that's close to the beginning of the alphabet."

"Vic and I are going to be here waiting almost the entire time," Molly said, "And unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about that."

"Yeah, Jade and Monica have all the luck," Alexa said, "Alexander and Birchfield, you two will be in and out in a flash."

"Provided neither of us mucks it up," Jade said, "For all you know, we could be the ones who take three times as long as everyone else to complete the practical portion."

"If you are, I'll maim you," Molly said, fixing her eyes on the other girl, "I'll be very upset if Vic and I are forced to be here any longer than we absolutely need to."

"There's bound to be some idiot that's going to completely screw up," Sam said, "There always is. My fifth year, it was Ryland Barrett."

"You mean, the Ravenclaw?" Monica asked, her eyes widening.

Sam nodded, "We were all a bit surprised. He did alright in the end, obviously, but he was really struggling during O.W.L.s for some reason."

"Well, I'm sure that you two will be fine," Alexa said, looking at Jade and Monica, "You're certainly not idiots, as long as you don't completely blank you'll be out of there fairly quickly."

"We hope," Jade said.

They headed down to the classrooms a few minutes later for the second half of their exam. Sure enough, Jade and Monica were in and out of the practical examination within fifteen minutes. Alexa and Sam went a bit later. Molly and Victoire waited almost two hours before they were finally able to take the practical portion. Victoire was in and out in ten minutes, and she pocketed her wand with a sigh.

"I'm glad that's over," Molly said, emerging from the classroom a moment later.

"Me too," Victoire said, "Now we just have to get through the rest of these things."

"Yeah, but I vote we eat some lunch before we even think about worrying about what comes tomorrow," Molly said.

Victoire nodded, "Sounds good to me."

They went back to the Great Hall to see that the tables had been returned to normal. Sam and Teddy were sitting in the usual area, deep in conversation, and Molly raised her eyebrows at Victoire.

Victoire shook her head, "It's… Whatever. I'll deal, Sam's his best mate, he's allowed to be here."

"If you say so," Molly said.

They made their way to the table and sat down. Victoire helped herself to some food and looked at Sam, "So, Sam, how'd it go?"

He looked up, and jumped a little bit, "Merlin, I didn't see you two sit down."

"Clearly," Molly said, taking a bite from her apple, "But like Vic said, how'd it go?"

Sam shrugged, "It was fine. Could've been worse."

Teddy muttered something, and Sam looked at him, "You sure?"

With a nod, Teddy left and headed down the table to where Olivia was sitting.

Victoire raised her eyebrows, "He didn't leave because of me, did he?"

"It didn't have anything to do with you," Sam said. After a doubtful stare from Victoire, Sam relented, "Okay, it was a little bit, but only because he feels awkward, not because you did anything to make him mad or anything."

Molly sighed, "When will you two get over that?"

"I don't know," Victoire said, "When I feel like I'm ready to, okay? Is that good enough?"

"It's your life," Molly said, reaching for the roast beef.

"Precisely," Victoire said. She turned back to Sam, "So, your exam went okay?"

"I mean, I probably could have done better, but I thought it went alright," Sam said, "Not as bad as I thought it would be, that's for sure. People have done a really good job of being overdramatic about these things, they're honestly nowhere near as bad as people like to say they are."

"I'll take your word for it," Victoire said, "I just want to make it through my O.W.L.s alive, I'll worry about N.E.W.T.s later."

"Makes sense," Sam said, "What'd you think about yours?"

"Decent," Molly said, "But then again, I could get my results and find out that I got a T on Transfiguration, so I probably shouldn't say too much right now."

"You don't honestly think that you'll jinx it," Sam said.

"No, but I don't want to say I did well only to get my results and find out that I didn't," Molly said, "It'd be awfully embarrassing."

"I'm with Molls on this one," Victoire said, "I thought it went okay, but I could be completely wrong, you never know. I'm mostly worried about Potions."

"You'll do fine," Sam said, "You only need an Exceeds Expectations to get into N.E.W.T. level."

"Yeah, but if I don't get that, I won't get in, and then there goes being an Auror," Victoire said, "I'd really like to be able to continue with that, you know, seeing as it's what I've wanted to do since I was a kid, practically."

"Whatever made you decide that was what you wanted to do anyway?" Molly asked, "I never really thought about it, you've wanted it for so long."

Victoire shrugged, "I don't know, it just… Feels right. I know Mum and Dad are working for Gringotts and all of that, but I've always felt like I would be best suited to a job as an Auror. It just feels like the right thing to do, so I've never really thought about doing anything else."

"What if the Harpies offered you a spot?" Sam asked.

"I don't think I would take it, honestly," Victoire said, "I've known for years that I want to be an Auror. Playing for the Harpies is Dom's dream, not mine."

"She'll get it too, with the way she's been playing," Sam said, "They'll have a hell of a time after she's gone."

"Well, whoever's Captain after her will have played with her for three years probably," Molly said, "They'll have plenty of time to start thinking about how to replace her, and I'm sure she'll be going mad training a replacement for herself. Liam's going to have a massive job replacing you and Teddy, it's not like there are that many people that play as well with Alexa and Vic as Teddy does."

"We'll work it out," Victoire said, shrugging, "They'll just have to get a major crash course in all of our combinations, that's all."

"Vic and Alexa are resourceful, they'll figure it out," Sam said, "They're fairly flexible players, they'll be able to adapt to having someone new playing with them."

Victoire nodded, "It'll work somehow." She looked at Sam, "Do you know what's going on with the Auror program? Some people have been talking about how they should have their letters by the time we leave next Friday."

"Yeah," Sam said, "They changed it this year so that people can rush their results for a couple of Galleons. Any N.E.W.T.s that they don't need for the program are this Friday so that results can make it to the Auror office, and then I guess they work overtime for the first couple of days next week to review applications and let people in. There's a summer program or something like that which immerses them a lot more quickly."

"I guess that would be nice," Molly said.

"I'll probably end up going for it if they offer it our seventh year," Victoire said, "Just for the sake of having my results sooner though, I don't know if I'd actually want to apply to the early program."

Sam shrugged, "It has its advantages, I guess."

"It certainly reduces the waiting-for-exam-results stress," Molly said, "I'll probably end up going for it too, honestly."

"I just like to know those things," Victoire said, "It comes in handy sometimes. Plus, like Molls said, less stress."

"Any word on when you start practice?" Molly asked.

Sam shook his head, "I'm pretty sure they're giving me at least a couple of weeks after the year is over to go see family and all of that, but beyond that, I have no idea."

"Shame," Molly said.

"I've got recruitment this weekend though," Sam said, "I'm Flooing out on Friday afternoon, and I'll be back on Monday evening."

"Have fun," Victoire said, "From what Mel's told me, the professional teams have some interesting welcoming practices."

Sam laughed, "I'm sure I'll be fine."

Victoire rolled her eyes, "Well, if you come back with green hair, don't say I didn't warn you."

"Heard and understood," Sam said.

The next day was much the same, with everyone feeling reasonably confident about things, but Wednesday was when things started to go downhill.

"I c-can't d-do t-this," Alexa said, tears already falling.

"It's going to be fine," Victoire said, wrapping an arm around her best friend's shoulders, "I swear. It's just Charms, Lexa, you're an ace at Charms."

"I w-was," Alexa said.

Liam walked into the common room, took one look at his girlfriend, and sighed, "Let me handle this."

Victoire stood up and let Liam take her seat beside Alexa, "Good luck, we've been trying for the last fifteen minutes."

Liam rolled his eyes, "It'll be fine." He turned to Alexa and pulled her up against him before whispering something in her ear. As he spoke, she began to calm down, and when he stopped talking, she wrapped her arms around him.

"Thanks, Liam."

He smiled at her, "Anytime."

Victoire shook her head, "I don't know how you do it."

Liam grinned, "I'm magical, what can I say?"

Monica rolled her eyes, "Sure you are. Feeling better, Lex?"

Alexa nodded, "Sorry, guys, I don't know what came over me."

"You're stressed out," Sam said, shrugging, "It happens. You won't be the last one either. There's already been at least six people in and out of the hospital wing, there will be more. Yours wasn't that bad at all. My fifth year, one of the Slytherins got so nervous that he had to be sedated because he literally flipped a table over. He had to take his O.W.L.s specially, and they brought in a couple of Aurors to keep an eye on him just in case things got out of hand. Of course, that's the exception, not the norm, but point is, it does happen."

"I guess you're right," Alexa said, "I probably should've thought about the fact that I'm not the only one, but what can I say? When you're nervous, you're not exactly worried about being rational."

"You ready to go down to breakfast now?" Molly asked, "You're an ace at Charms, like Vic said, you'll do fine. You're just tired."

Alexa nodded again, "Yeah, I'm ready. You guys are right, I'm just nervous, that's all."

As they walked down to breakfast, Victoire turned to Liam, "I could have sworn you were completely fine last year."

He shrugged, "I was."

"How did you do it?" Victoire asked.

"I studied up until the week of, and then I didn't study at all during the week," Liam said, "I played Quidditch instead, you know how good of a stress reliever it is when you're just playing for the fun of it. It worked really well, I didn't panic at all the entire time. It was pretty great."

"I could never do that," Victoire said, "I like to study, it makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something."

Liam laughed, "I wish I could say the same, but there comes a point where I feel like I'm just stressing myself out more. You probably have a much higher tolerance for it than I do, I can only handle so much before I start going absolutely barmy."

"I'm the same," Victoire said, "I've just been desensitized to it at this point, so I don't really notice anymore."

"You're lucky that way," Liam said, "I wish I was able to study without feeling like my head was going to explode, but apparently I was not fortunate enough to receive that skill."

Victoire grinned, "It comes in handy, I must say, but I'd still rather be playing Quidditch or spending time with the girls than studying for exams."

"I'm pretty sure everyone would rather be doing something besides studying for exams, but if you have an easy time of it, then you're awfully lucky," Liam said, "It means I have to space everyone out a lot more than you probably do in order to avoid overstressing myself and exhibiting a breakdown similar to Alexa's, tears and all."

"Well, you two are perfectly matched then, aren't you?" Victoire asked.

Liam rolled his eyes, "Except I tend to ditch things when they become too problematic in order to go play Quidditch so that I don't go mad, and some people don't find that to be all that appealing."

"I'm sure you're fine," Victoire said, "Lexa's not about to abandon someone who prefers Quidditch to problems. In fact, I think she'd probably really like playing Quidditch in order to _resolve_ problems."

"You're probably right," Liam said.

Victoire placed a hand on his shoulder, "Wouldn't be the first time."

Thankfully, Alexa made it through the Charms O.W.L. without any further breakdowns.

The last two days of exams were both the best and worst.

Best, because they knew that they were nearly done.

Worst, because they were still exam days, and their end meant the graduation of the seventh years, something that no one was particularly excited about.

They all said goodbye to Sam on Friday afternoon, and then he left to go to Puddlemere's recruitment weekend.

"It's going to be strange," Monica said, as they were walking around the lake later that day.

"What will?" Jade asked.

"Sam and Teddy are going to be gone, Chelsea, Nick, and Liam are going to be seventh years…" Monica sighed, "It's just going to be strange. It'll be the first year without Sam and Teddy here."

"We'll manage," Victoire said, "We always do. Sam won't be that far away, it's not like he's leaving the country or anything, and you know he'll be at Hogsmeade weekends so that he can see Molls."

"And the rest of you," Molly said, "He's not about to abandon you lot just because he's dating me, you know that."

Victoire shrugged, "He has more incentive to see you, you're his girlfriend."

"And you're practically his younger sister," Alexa said, "He'll be back, we don't need to worry about him going too far away."

"I'll miss him a lot though," Molly said, sighing, "I wish he was here."

"Molls," Monica said, "He's been gone for literally an hour."

"I'm not used to him not being somewhere around the school," Molly said.

"He'll be back on Monday," Jade said.

"I know," Molly said, "You guys…"

"We don't get it, we know," Victoire said, "It'll be fine though, you'll get used to it. We'll all get used to it."

"Vic's right," Alexa said, "Nothing lasts forever, and much as we might want them to stay here, people have to leave. I'm just glad my best mates are in my year."

Victoire nodded, "Me too." She sighed, "Me too…"

* * *

**A/N:**

**And now there is only one more chapter left! I would've posted this one sooner, but I have literally been working on homework, at a track meet, or practicing for my driving test pretty much every waking moment because it's a month until finals and I'm taking my test tomorrow.**

**I'm nearly done with the first chapter of the sequel, but there's a lot going on over the next couple of weeks for me so it might take a little while for me to get that posted after the final chapter of this one.**

**And yes, feel sort of bad for Danny right now, but I promise you good things will happen to him later! Not in this story, since there's not really time left, but in the sequel. He will be happy!**

**I'm off to do MORE work, talk to you all later :)**

**~AC**


	22. Chapter 22 (FINAL CHAPTER!)

The week after O.W.L.s flew by, and before anyone knew it, the last full day at Hogwarts had arrived.

Lunchtime found Victoire, Danny, Molly, Sam, Monica, Ben, Jake, Jade, Alexa, and Liam down by the lake, laughing and talking with one another. Victoire was lying in the grass, her head in Danny's lap. His back was up against a tree, and he was playing with her ponytail, running his fingers through her hair gently.

"This year went by faster than I thought it would," Victoire said.

"A lot has happened to you, that's why," Danny said, smiling down at her.

She grinned at him, "Yeah, you could say that."

"Who would've thought you'd end up with a Slytherin?" Monica said. Danny made a face at her, and she laughed, "Kidding, I was kidding."

"I know you were," he said, "You've teased me enough about it at this point, and I'll repeat myself: Blame the hat, not me. Besides, who'd have thought you'd end up with a Hufflepuff?"

Ben grinned, "As you said, Danny, blame the hat, not me."

"Will do," Alexa said, laughing. Ben rolled his eyes as the rest of the group joined in the laughter.

Molly ruffled Sam's hair, "I'll miss you next year, you crazy person."

"I'll still be around plenty," Sam said, "I had a talk with Bradley, and he said that we'll get plenty of days off, so I was thinking of looking for a flat in Hogsmeade so that I can be there when you lot come down, and also so that I can come up and visit every once in a while. It's not too far for me to go to get to practice, and I'd like to be close."

Molly's mouth dropped. She threw her arms around him and hugged him, "Really?"

He chuckled, "Of course, I wouldn't lie about something like that."

"It'll be good to have you around," Monica said, "It saves us from having to listen to her whining all the time about how much she misses you. This past weekend when you were gone for recruitment… Wow."

"I do not whine," Molly said.

"Pretty damn close," Jade said, smiling, "I don't blame you though. I'm just glad I've got another year with this one." She elbowed Jake, who clutched his side.

"Ow!"

Jade rolled her eyes, "Oh, stop being such a baby."

"Vic never abused me when we dated," Jake said.

"Except emotionally," Victoire said.

"True," Jake said.

Victoire laughed. Danny shook his head, "Remind me again why I spend all my time with a bunch of Gryffindors and a Hufflepuff?"

"You don't spend all your time with us," Victoire said, "You spend almost half of it with Seb."

"But still, why?" Danny asked, "You lot are making me go soft."

"You started dating my best friend, that's why," Alexa said, "It tends to happen."

"What was I _thinking?" _Danny asked.

Victoire reached up and smacked his shoulder, "Oh, shut up, you know it's the best decision that you've ever made."

"Very true," Danny said.

"This is too cute, I think I'm going to die from an overdose of it," Alexa said.

"You're weird," Jade said, rolling her eyes.

"I know," Alexa said, ignoring the laughter of her friends.

The boys abandoned them a short while later to get one last game on the Quidditch pitch before they had to go back up to school. Victoire and the girls started off on a walk around the lake.

"It's been an absolutely mental year, hasn't it?" Molly asked.

"I'll say," Victoire said.

"How are things going with you and Danny, anyway?" Jade asked, "I mean, they looked good, but looks can be deceiving."

"Case and point, Teddy and me on Valentine's Day," Victoire said, her voice dry. She brightened a moment later, "They're going really well, actually. He's going to meet my parents at the train station, just to say hello before we leave. His family is going to Spain for two weeks, so I won't see him until almost the end of June, but he said he'll write me a lot. When I wrote Mum and Dad and told them I was dating a Slytherin, I just received responses that said 'I'm happy for you," from Mum, and 'If he hurts you, let me know,' from Dad, so I don't think that they'll be too much trouble."

"That's good," Alexa said, "The fact that my parents like Liam has made things a million times easier as far as our relationship goes, since I don't have to worry about whether or not they'll like him."

"My parents will love Ben either way, so I'm not worried about it," Monica said, "And Jake goes over well with everyone, so you're good, Jade."

"I told Mum," Molly said, "Dad still doesn't know, she told me not to tell him. He likes Sam, but I'm sure that opinion would change the second he found out that Sam was more in the way of snog-worthy than big brother figure."

Victoire nodded, "Yeah, I told Mum about what happened with Teddy so that she won't be surprised about the lack of his presence over the summer. Of course, I don't really know what he's doing as far as the Auror program goes, so for all I know, he could be spending the next two years in another country and I might not even need to worry about it. Either way, I felt better having her know. It was wrong that she didn't, I mean, she is my mum, and I've never had a problem telling her things like that before."

"We've got good parents, as far as that stuff goes," Jade said, "I sent my mum a letter the day that Jake asked me to be his girlfriend."

"It's just nice, knowing that at least one of your family members approves of or likes the person that you've decided to go out with," Alexa said, "It kind of helps to get rid of the uncertainty that you're going to end up having some extremely awkward family dinners, you know?"

"Exactly," Monica said, "I hate those."

"With a passion," Victoire said, "They're the worst, which is why I was a little worried about what Dad's reaction would be. He'll get confused about where Teddy is, but hopefully Mum will help me to come up with some excuses."

"I'm sure she will," Molly said, "She's not exactly the kind of person who would sell out her own daughter, especially about something like that."

Victoire shrugged, "I dunno, all I know is that I'm one hundred percent ready to move on from it now. Things happened, and it's really sad that they ended up the way that they did, but we knew that was a risk going into it, and it happened, so there's not really any point in dwelling on it anymore. I also know that I'm a complete and total idiot and I absolutely overreacted, but I'm not quite sure what to do about that… I'll figure something out."

"You're learning," Alexa said, "That's good."

"I think I've been learning that lesson since the day I was born," Victoire said, "Given when I was born and all of that. Moving on has just sort of become a part of life, you know?"

There was a series of nods from the rest of the group, and then Monica spoke.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about serious exams next year," she said, "Having a summer of break from school will be really nice though."

"It's always nice," Jade said, "You guys can come by if you want to, we have a pool."

"And you lot are welcome to come by my house to swim in the ocean as well," Victoire said, "It might be a little bit cold, but I'm sure we can handle it."

"We'll do plenty of things together over the summer," Alexa said, "I don't think my parents are planning on kidnapping me this year."

"And I know Mum will help me sneak out if it becomes necessary," Molly said, "But Dad likes you guys, so I doubt it'll be a problem."

"We'll just have a lot of fun," Monica said, "It's not like we really need to be worried about much of anything this summer, so we might as well just make the most of it instead."

"Definitely," Victoire said.

The Leaving Feast came and went. All of Victoire's group of friends clapped enthusiastically as the seventh years stood, each one sad to see Sam go, and soon enough, they were getting off the train at King's Cross. Victoire laced her fingers through Danny's and led him over to where her parents stood with Louis.

"Mum, Dad, this is Danny, my boyfriend," Victoire said, "Danny, this is my mum and dad."

"Hello sir," Danny said, reaching out to shake Bill's hand. He then turned to Fleur and gave a slight bow, "Ma'am."

Fleur laughed, "'e ees so polite!"

Victoire smiled, "That he is."

"I trust you know that I need to give you the standard father-boyfriend talk?" Bill said, narrowing his eyes at Danny.

"Yes sir," Danny said, "I'm ready whenever you are."

"Let's do it now, shall we?"

Victoire chuckled as Bill led Danny a short way away from the rest of the family.

"'e makes you 'appy?" Fleur asked, looking at Victoire.

"Very much so," Victoire said, watching her father and boyfriend, "I really do like him a lot, Mum."

"Good," Fleur said, "Very good." Her eyes widened, and she fell silent.

Victoire opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, only to shut it when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Teddy, who stood there with his hands in his pockets. His hair was the same shade of light brown that it had been for the past couple of months, and his eyes their usual shade of hazel, both of which Victoire knew were his natural appearance, not something he'd morphed into. His eyes were solemn as he looked at her, and she tilted her head slightly, observing him. She hadn't bothered to really, truly look at him in months, and it shocked her to see how tired he appeared to be, his eyes dull. Alexa had been right all those weeks ago when she had said he didn't look good.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked, "I promise it won't take long, and it's nothing mental or bad or anything, or at least, Sam told me it wasn't, so hopefully that's good enough for you to talk to me."

"Alright," Victoire said, after a few moments of contemplation. She followed him to an area where no one was standing, and crossed her arms, "What is it?"

"I feel terrible about what happened with us," Teddy said, "Terrible, stupid, idiotic… If you think of any other good adjectives to throw in there, please do. I was being a huge git and I know that. I just wanted to let you know that one, I was never actually dating Liv, we were just studying Potions because she's the best in the entire class and we figured it would be a good trade if she helped me make sure I was as prepared as possible for that while I helped her with Transfiguration." As Victoire opened her mouth to speak, he held up his hand, "Just wait, let me finish. I'm only telling you that so that you don't think I was with her all the time because I was trying to make you jealous. She approached me, and I saw no reason to not do it. Second, I'm not going to be here this summer. The Auror program is sending a number of us who are already in the program because we rushed our N.E.W.T. scores off to Australia to spend the year there learning some of their ways of dealing with Dark wizards, so you don't have to worry about seeing me. I really am sorry, Vic, and I understand if you can't forgive me now, but I hope you will eventually. That's all I had to say, so… Bye, I guess."

Victoire caught his hand before he could leave, "It's Tori, Lupin."

He smiled slightly, though his eyes stayed sad, "Wait, really?"

She stood on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "You're an idiot, I'm an idiot, we may as well be idiots together. Most of this was my fault anyway, I didn't really listen to you or consider your side, and that was stupid of me, because you really are important to me and I don't know why I can be so completely daft sometimes. So… Friends. I can do friends."

"Great," Teddy said, a small smile forming on his face, "I'll write you, or something. I leave the day after tomorrow."

Victoire nodded, "Alright. Good luck, and I know I never told you, so congrats on getting in to the Auror program."

"Thanks," Teddy said. He reached inside of his pocket and withdrew something. He handed a small package to Victoire, "I got this for you for your birthday, forever ago, but since we weren't really on good terms, I didn't give it to you, so… Here. But don't open it until I leave, expressions of gratitude disgust me."

He winked at Victoire, put his hand on his trunk, and with a loud crack, he was gone. She stared at the spot where he had stood, confused, only to shake her head and return to her mother. Bill and Danny arrived not long after, and Danny pressed a kiss to her cheek once Bill had clapped him on the shoulder.

"I need to go, my parents will kill me if I'm any later, but I'll write," he said.

"Great," Victoire said, smiling at him.

He squeezed her hand once and was gone.

"So you liked him?" Victoire asked, looking at Bill.

"He'll do," Bill said.

Fleur rolled her eyes, "'e likes Danny."

"I thought so," Victoire said.

Once Dom arrived, Bill and Fleur took them with Side-Along, and soon enough, they were home.

Victoire went up to her room and settled down on her bed, turning the package Teddy had given her over and over in her hands. After a while, she unwrapped it to find a small box.

When she opened it, there was a tiny charm with a Christmas tree on it, and a note, folded up into a tiny square. She unfolded it and began to read.

Written there in cramped, tiny, but unmistakably Teddy's handwriting, was a short message.

_Tori,_

_This charm should go on the bracelet I gave you for Christmas._

_I know my mum and dad would have loved you, and I wish she was here to see how lucky I am that you said yes to me._

_I know I can be a major git, and extremely hard to put up with, but somehow, you manage to get past that side of me and bring out my best parts, and I know you're going to go so unbelievably far that it's almost inconceivable. The Auror program will be lucky to have you, but not quite as lucky as I am. _

_I know that you're probably wondering what it is that Sam and I have been whispering about all year, and I hope that this note gives you some idea. I meant it for real all those times that we said it before, and I mean it now._

_I just want you to know that I love you, to the moon and back._

_Forever and beyond even that._

_Yours (You always did like that label, and it's true, I am yours, no matter what happens),_

_Ted Remus Lupin_

_(Teddy)_

The paper fluttered out of her hands to the floor, and for the first time since she'd walked out on him on that frozen day in February, Victoire Weasley allowed herself to cry over Teddy Lupin.

* * *

**A/N:**

**And there we have the final chapter! I wanted to post it on a Monday, just to keep with my initial uploading tradition ;)**

**They made up- sort of.**

**Victoire knows she's an idiot, don't worry, she just has trouble verbalizing it. She's starting to grow up though.**

**You do have to remember, she was fifteen for almost all of this story, and I know that's easy for us to forget because they're living in the Wizarding World, where people tend to feel a lot older than they actually are. We're used to Harry's story, where he had to grow up much quicker than anyone else, and while Victoire may be the oldest Weasley, she still makes a lot of stupid teenager mistakes.**

**I'm working on the sequel right now, and I suppose I can tell you the title now.**

**It's from a Patty Griffin song called "When It Don't Come Easy," and the title that I've chosen for part II of this possible trilogy is...**

**"If You Forget My Love, I'll Try To Remind You"**

**(It seemed fitting)**

**I'm about halfway through chapter two right now, and I can promise you that things are getting a lot lighter. I don't like only posting one chapter when I first start a story, so I might wait until I've written all of chapter three before I post the first two parts. We'll see. I only need to write another couple of thousand words before I finish chapter two, so I might just post it and then say that there's an indefinite upload schedule until I finish chapter three.**

**Also, don't feel _too_ sorry for Danny. Good things are coming for him, even if it might not seem like it right now.**

**Thank you all for reading In Your Arms I'll Stay. It's the second story I've ever actually finished, and my first legitimate novel-length fanfiction, and it's wonderful to know that so many people have enjoyed it.**

**I look forward to seeing you all when I post the first two chapters of the sequel.**

**Peace and love x**

**~AC**


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